Military News

Five rockets fired at US airbase a day after Iraq’s prime minister visited the US

Source: Twitter/X

An otherwise silent Sunday was shattered after at least five rockets were launched from the Iraqi town of Zummar towards a Kharab al-Jir base in northeastern Syria, according to Iraqi security sources and a US official.

The rocket assault is the first attack on US forces since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq agreed to stop targeting US troops.

The incident occurred just one day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden at the White House.

A post on a Telegram group linked to Kataib Hezbollah stated that armed groups in Iraq decided to restart their attacks after nearly three months of relative peace.

This decision reportedly came after seeing little progress in discussions to end the US-led military presence in Iraq.

According to Reuters, another Telegram group close to Kataib Hezbollah, called Sabreen News, later said there had been no official statement from the Iran-backed group.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that more than five rockets were fired from Iraq towards troops at a coalition base in Rumalyn, Syria.

Despite causing alarm, no US personnel were injured.

The official described the indirect fire assault as a “failed rocket attack,” but it wasn’t clear if the rockets missed the base or were intercepted before reaching it. It was also uncertain if the base was the intended target.

After the rocket attack, an aircraft from the US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria carried out a strike against the rocket launcher.

Two Iraqi security sources and a senior army officer confirmed that a small truck with a rocket launcher fixed on its back was parked in Zummar, near the Syrian border. The officer said the destroyed truck was seized for further investigation, and early findings indicated it was hit by an airstrike.

“We are in contact with coalition forces in Iraq to exchange information about this attack,” the officer stated.

The Iraqi Security Media Cell, an official body responsible for sharing security information, released a statement confirming that Iraqi forces had launched “a wide-ranging search and inspection operation” to find those responsible for the attack near the Syrian border. The statement also promised to bring them to justice.

An Al Mayadeen correspondent, in Aleppo, reported four missiles were fired at a US military base at al-Omar oil field, and three missiles and a drone were launched to attack Kharab al-Jir base.

The rocket attack came after a major explosion at an Iraqi military base on Saturday killed a member of an Iraqi security force that includes Iran-backed groups.

While the force commander said it was an attack, the Iraqi army stated it was still investigating the cause, noting that there were no warplanes in the sky at the time.

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