Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 03:39 pm
The rocket fire marked the latest in a spate of attacks to pound the Ain al-Assad base, which hosts American troops and personnel from the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.
Iraq Military Sources:
An Iraqi military source testified that several rockets targeted the base, some of them falling inside, while one hit a neighboring village and did not cause any damage.
Attacks-Building Context:
Those were frequent in the early days of conflict between Israel and Hamas but since then mostly ended. The latest rocket fire also comes amid growing fears of an attack by Iran and its allies against Israel in retaliation for recent strikes that killed top Hamas and Hezbollah figures, which have either been blamed on or claimed by Israel.
Series of Attacks:
The Iran-allied “Axis of Resistance” also includes Iraqi factions and Yemen’s Houthis, who have already been drawn into the almost 10-month-old conflict. Monday’s attack came a week after a US strike on fighters attempting to launch drones viewed as posing a potential threat to American and allied forces killed four, Iraqi officials said.
Past Attacks:
There have been new attacks, on July 16 and 25, against bases that host US and coalition forces in Iraq, following previous attacks that had apparently stopped in April. Most were claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which claimed to act in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The slaying of three US soldiers in Jordan earlier this year in a drone strike blamed on the same groups led to US retaliatory strikes against Tehran-backed fighters.
There have been negotiations between Baghdad and Washington about the future of the US-led coalition mission in Iraq, against the backdrop of Iranian-backed groups demanding a pullout. Some 2,500 US military personnel are currently stationed in Iraq and 900 in Syria.
The rocket attack at the Ain al-Assad base underlines the volatility which continues to pound the region, with more escalation looming over rising tensions between the US, Iran, and their respective allies.