Iraq
US soldiers walk around at the Taji base complex which hosts Iraqi and US troops, 30 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. File photo: Ali al-Saadi / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Areas near Taji training camp in northern Baghdad were targeted by Katyusha rockets on Tuesday night, according to Iraqi Security Media Cell.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell confirmed on Tuesday night that several Katyusha rockets targeted Taji, a base north of Baghdad that hosts US troops.
No coalition troops were affected by the attack, it was later confirmed.
No Coalition troops were affected by this small attack at Taji Base. Follow @SecMedCell for updates. لم تتعرض أي من قوات التحالف لأضرار من هذا الهجوم https://t.co/DWDN6j9SIY
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) January 14, 2020
It remains unclear who is behind the offensive.
Tuesday’s Katyusha rocket strikes are the latest in the string of attacks which have largely been attributed to Iran-backed Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) units, specifically the Kataib Hezbollah (KH) militia.
Rockets fired at al-Balad airbase in Saladin province on Sunday evening injured four members of Iraq’s air force.
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 targeted drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. Iran retaliated by firing 22 ballistic missiles at US bases in Iraq on January 8.
The Shiite coalition has been pushing the US troops to leave Iraq after the death of Soleimani and al-Mohandis by passing a non-binding resolution inside the parliament in early January.
US officials have already refused to withdraw troops from Iraq, instead repositioning to other bases around the country.
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