Iran retaliates, fires missiles at US base in Iraq

 

An Iraqi military air base housing U.S. troops in Iraq’s Al Anbar province was hit by more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iran early Wednesday morning local time, according to the Pentagon.

“It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil,” the Defense Department said in a statement.

It is unclear whether there is any damage to the Al-Assad air base, which President Donald Trump visited last month, or whether there were any casualties.

Iranian state TV described it as Tehran’s revenge operation over the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, according to the Associated Press.

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The state TV report said the operation’s name was “Martyr Soleimani.” It said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division that controls the country’s missile program launched the attack.

The White House said in a statement it was aware of the reports of attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq.

“The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said.

The attack comes just days after Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Soleimani, the high-profile commander of Iran’s secretive Quds Force.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed Friday that the country “will take revenge” for the general’s death.

Soleimani was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East, having developed a network of powerful militia groups whose clandestine reach stretched into Iraq, Syria and beyond.

• Source: NBC News