ANBAR: In what has been a recent upsurge in attacks on American forces by Iranian-backed militias, US defense sources claimed on Monday that several US personnel were hurt in a suspected rocket attack at a military base in Iraq.
The attack occurs at a time when tensions are running high throughout the Middle East as a result of the apparent Israeli strikes that killed a prominent Hamas political official in Iran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon last week. Iran supports both factions.
According to US defense authorities, soldiers at the al-Asad air base were still evaluating the damage and casualties. Iraqi security officials verified the strike earlier on Monday, but no organization has taken credit for it.
The officials discussed military actions with the Associated Press while maintaining their anonymity.
After a hiatus of several months, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have recently resumed attacking US military outposts in Iraq and Syria. This comes after an attack on a base in Jordan in late January that resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers and sparked a string of retaliatory US strikes.
An umbrella organization identifying itself as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq had been claiming attacks between October and January, claiming they were meant to drive US forces out of the area and were in reprisal for Washington’s support of Israel in its battle against Hamas in Gaza.
