Iraq
US soldiers clearing rubble at Ain al-Asad military airbase in the western Iraqi province of Anbar on January 13, 2020. Photo: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iranian-backed Iraqi militia on Saturday said it targeted bases housing United States forces in Erbil and Anbar provinces in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in the war with Hamas. The same group carried out similar attacks last week.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said in a statement on Telegram that it targeted the Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq’s Anbar province with drones “that directly hit their targets.”
A few hours later, the group released another statement saying they had targeted US forces at a military base near Erbil’s international airport.
Rudaw English has reached out to the US-led coalition for confirmation.
Iraqi security and military sources told AFP that Ain al-Asad base was targeted by two drones. The first was shot down and the second crashed due to a technical issue.
No casualties or material damage have been reported.
Iran-backed militias have warned the US that its forces in Iraq would be “legitimate targets” if Washington intervenes in the Israel-Gaza war. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq last week claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Erbil’s Harir base and a rocket attack on Ain al-Asad.
Since June 2019, the militias have carried out more than 500 operations, mainly targeting foreign military objectives in Iraq, according to data compiled by ACLED. Attacks on American forces spiked following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, head of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad in January 2020, but the number greatly decreased last year.
Iraq’s political leaders have blasted Israel for its attacks on Gaza, which have killed thousands.
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