Wounded US personnel airlifted from Iraq after Iran-back missile attack
US forces based at Ain al-Asad air base has been the target of multiple attacks, including this assault in 2020. Photo: AAP
Wounded US military personnel have been evacuated from Iraq after a barrage of missiles fired by an Iran-backed rebel group slammed into Ain al-Asad air base.
A Pentagon statement confirmed the incident and said that casualties’ included “traumatic brain injury”.
The statement’s assessment was more severe than initial accounts from security sources in Iraq, who, along with an Iraqi government source, had only reported rocket fire against the base.
Offering a sense of the scale of the attack, Central Command said most of the missiles were intercepted though others broke through the defensive anti-missile screen to hit the base.
Scores of previous attacks
“Damage assessments are ongoing,” Central Command said, adding the attack took place on Saturday at 6.30pm local time in Iraq.
“At least one Iraqi service member was wounded.”
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the US military has come under attack at least 58 times in Iraq and another 83 times in Syria by Iran-backed militants, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.
The militants are seeking to impose a cost on the US for its support of Israel against Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas and its strikes on Houthi rebels threatening Red Sea shipping lanes.
-with AAP
