US airbase subjected to missile attack in Iraq

A rocket attack targeted US troops at Iraq’s Al-Asad Airbase on December 20, bringing the number of attacks on American forces in Iraq and Syria to 102 since Oct. 17.

Iraqi security forces went to the site and took the truck used to launch the attack, according to sources who spoke to Al Arabiya English. The attack missed its target, and no casualties or damage were reported, Al Arabiya reports.

The US Central Command issued a statement later in the day confirming the attack, which involved a 122mm rocket. “The ISF seized a flatbed truck modified to launch up to 5 x 122mm rockets that was located at the site,” CENTCOM said.

The US military has publicly announced at least six different responses to these attacks in Syria and Iraq as they look to contain the war in Gaza and prevent a new war that would drag US boots back on the ground.

After several weeks of attacks, US President Joe Biden had only ordered responses inside Syria in what analysts and former officials have described as largely symbolic strikes despite some of the attacks on US troops being in Iraq.

The US had avoided initially responding to attacks inside of Iraq due to an already frustrated Iraqi public sentiment towards Washington. But the US has since targeted Iran-backed militias inside Iraq and killed several fighters, officials have said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to the Iraqi prime minister about Baghdad’s obligation to protect US diplomatic and military personnel in the country. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also held similar talks with the Iraqi premier to drive home a similar message.

Austin said the US had the right to act in self-defence against those who attacked the US and called out Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba for being behind most of the attacks.

Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland went to Iraq this week and met with top officials as well. According to the State Department, she underscored the “importance of close Iraqi-US cooperation in addressing shared security threats” during a meeting with the Iraqi prime minister.

A US official previously told Al Arabiya English that Washington was giving the Iraqi government a chance to rein in these militias. Baghdad’s security forces have arrested a handful of culprits. Still, the official said it appears unlikely that the Iraqi government will be able to put an end to these attacks on Americans in the country at the invitation of the Iraqi government.

In recent days, the CENTCOM commander held talks with the top US military general and Pentagon chief to discuss potential responses. CENTCOM chief Gen. Erik Kurilla now has a list of different retaliatory attacks lined up and ready to be directed once the US president okays a response, officials said.