Iran fired “more than a dozen” ballistic missiles on Tuesday (Jan 7) against two airbases in Iraq where US and coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said.
“At approximately 5.30pm (2230 GMT) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq,” Assistant to the Secretary of Defence for Public Affairs Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
“It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil,” he said. “We are working on initial battle damage assessments.”
The attack on military bases came after pro-Teheran factions in Iraq vowed to join forces to “respond” to an American drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi top commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad last week.
Last Saturday, a series of rockets was launched and fell inside or near the high-security Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, including the US embassy. No casualties were reported.
The deadly US drone strike in Baghdad has rocked America’s ties with allies on the ground, leaving diplomats scrambling to contain the fallout and Iraqi officials outraged at the airspace violation.
The White House said President Donald Trump was “monitoring” reports of the attacks on the Iraqi military bases.
“We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The president has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team,” White House spokesman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
