“Eight Katyusha rockets were fired on al-Balad airbase in Saladin Province, injuring four members of the Iraqi Air Force, including two officers,” Iraqi Security Media Cell of the Joint Operations Command said in a Sunday evening statement.
Recent strikes by Iran and Iran-backed groups have targeted Iraqi bases hosting US military personnel. However, Husham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi security analyst, said Balad “has been empty of foreign or American military personnel” since January 4.
Sunday’s Katyusha rocket strikes are the latest in the string of attacks largely attributed to Iran-backed Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units, specifically the Kataib Hezbollah (KH) militia.
A December 27 attack on the K-1 military base in Kirkuk province, widely suspected to have been conducted by Kataib Hezbollah, killed an American civilian contractor and injured a number of US servicemen and Iraqi security force members.
The strike appeared to cross an American red line, setting off a chain of attacks by the US and Iran that nearly led to an all-out war between the two countries.
The US responded to the K-1 strike by killing 25 Kataib Hezbollah members and commanders in airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on December 29. In response, Kataib Hezbollah and allied Iran-backed militias stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad on December 31, demanding US forces be expelled from the country.
On January 3, the US killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and deputy head of the PMF Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis in a targeted drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at US bases in Iraq on January 8.
In comments to Rudaw English on Friday, Hashimi downplayed the willingness of Iran-backed elements in Iraq to follow up on Iranian strikes by conducting other attacks on bases where Coalition troops are stationed. The December 27 airstrikes taught PMF “a harsh lesson” about US willingness to strike, he said.
US officials have already refused to withdraw troops from Iraq - despite an Iraqi government request per a non-binding parliamentary resolution passed on January 5. Instead, US personnel have been repositioned to other bases in the country to prioritize their safety.
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