Iraq
US Army soldiers stand outside their armored vehicle on a joint base with Iraqi army south of Mosul, Iraq on February 23 2017.Photo: Khalid Mohammed/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- US officials have confirmed the death of one civilian contractor in Friday night's missile attack on K1 military base in Kirkuk.
Located 15km northwest of Kirkuk, the military base was attacked by ten missiles at 7.20pm on Friday evening, also killing two Iraqi policemen.
"One civilian US contractor was killed and several US service members and Iraqi personnel were wounded in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base hosting Coalition troops, " read a Saturday morning statement released by the Joint Task Force of Operation Inherent Resolve, established by the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State (ISIS).
The US is now investigating the "possible involvement" of Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah, according to Reuters.
The attack follows warnings of a "decisive response" against Iran if Americans were harmed in Iranian attacks in the region.
"We must also use this opportunity to remind Iran's leaders that any attacks by them, or their proxies of any identity, that harm Americans, our allies, or our interests will be answered with a decisivie US response," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a December 13 statement.
K1 military base is home to both US and Iraqi elite troops.
Kirkuk province has recently seen a surge in ISIS attacks that have killed both security forces and civilians.
At least one civilian was killed and two others injured in a live shooting on a civilian vehicle on the Kirkuk-Tirkit highway late on Thursday, according to the Iraqi Security Media Cell. However, Saeed Ali Husseini, head of public relations for the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Northern Front, told Rudaw four civilians were killed in the attack.
He added that his organization, known in Arabic as Hashd al-Shaabi, suspects ISIS members to be responsible.
Three members of Iraq’s security forces were also killed in two separate attacks in Kirkuk and Saladin provinces by ISIS on Tuesday.
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