ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US Department of Defense said on Tuesday that it will not tolerate assaults on US troops in the Middle East, a day after several US personnel were injured by a rocket attack in Iraq.
“Several U.S. service members were wounded yesterday in a rocket attack on Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a press conference in Annapolis on Tuesday. “So make no mistake: The United States will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region.”
Austin, a retired US Army general who led its Central Command (CENTCOM), now heads the Pentagon.
“We’ve adjusted our military posture to strengthen our force protection and to reinforce our ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel and to remain prepared to respond to any contingency,” he added.
A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Rudaw on Monday reports of several US personnel injured by an overnight rocket attack at Ain al-Asad airbase, an Iraqi base in Anbar province that is used by the US military and partners in the international coalition.
A US defense official told the AFP on Monday that five US military personnel and two contractors were injured but all were in stable condition.
Austin, in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, said the attack was conducted by “Iran-aligned militia” and is “a dangerous escalation and demonstrated Iran's destabilizing role in the region,” according to a US readout.
A previously-unknown group, calling itself the “Revolutionaries,” claimed responsibility for the attack via Telegram. The group claims to be affiliated to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a shadowy network of Iraqi militia groups allegedly backed by Iran. It has attacked US forces on bases in Iraq and Syria dozens of times since October.
The strike on Monday was the third in the last three weeks on the Iraqi airbase. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq did not claim responsibility.
Tensions have been high between Washington and Baghdad since the start of the latest chapter in the Israel-Palestine conflict in October. Pro-Iran Iraqi militias have conducted more than 165 attacks on US troops based in Iraq and Syria in condemnation of the US government’s support of Israel.
The security situation in the Middle East is increasingly tense, as Iran, Hezbollah, and other Iran-backed groups have increased violent rhetoric against Israel and the United States.
