"We can confirm that a suspected missile attack today targeted U.S. and coalition forces at Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq," the official said. "Initial indications suggest several U.S. personnel were injured."
Location of the US Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq on a map: Photo: Mapbox/CNN
The attack occurred amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, as the U.S. prepared for Iranian retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
The powerful Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon also vowed retaliation against Israel following the assassination of one of its top commanders in Beirut less than a day before Haniyeh was killed.
This incident occurred just days after US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of additional military forces to the region, including a carrier strike group, a squadron of fighter jets, and more warships to the Middle East.
Although it remains unclear who carried out Monday's missile attack, U.S. officials have long blamed militia groups in Iraq for attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria.
Between October 17 last year and January 29 this year, there were more than 150 attacks on American personnel in Iraq and Syria. Those attacks slowed after three American servicemen were killed in a drone strike on a US outpost in Jordan, leading to a significant US response involving attacks on 85 targets in seven different locations.
“The United States is not seeking conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world ,” President Joe Biden said at the time. “But… if you harm an American, we will respond.”
Bui Huy (according to CNN)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cang-thang-trung-dong-ten-lua-tan-cong-can-cu-my-o-iraq-nhieu-binh-si-bi-thuong-post306495.html
