Several U.S. personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack at a military base in Iraq, U.S. defense officials said Monday, in what has been a recent uptick in strikes on American forces.
The attack comes as tensions across the Middle East are spiking following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran.
The U.S. defense officials said troops at al-Asad air base were still assessing the damage. Earlier Monday, Iraqi security officials confirmed the attack, but no group has claimed responsibility.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed on the attack and the U.S. response, White House officials said Monday.
In recent weeks, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have resumed launching attacks on bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria after a lull of several months, following a strike on a base in Jordan in late January that killed three American soldiers and prompted a series of retaliatory U.S. strikes.
Between October and January, an umbrella group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq had regularly claimed attacks that it said were in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and were aimed at pushing U.S. troops out of the region.
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