US Military Personal in Iraq Has Been Attacked Central Command Reported in a Press Statement
As regional tensions flare after the deadly Gaza hospital bombing, coalition forces have been slightly injured in Iraq in a spate of drone attacks over the last 24 hours.
A U.S. military base in northern Iraq was targeted by a drone. According to a statement issued by U.S. Central Command Wednesday, U.S. forces intercepted all three and destroyed two but only damaged the third, resulting in minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base.
In this moment of heightened alert, we vigilantly monitor the situation in Iraq and the region. U.S. forces will protect U.S. and coalition forces against any threat," Central Command said in a press release.
Due to U.S. support for Israel, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have threatened to attack U.S. facilities.
An umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias issued a statement afterward claiming responsibility for the two attacks and saying it "heralds more operations" against "American occupation."
After the latest Hamas-Israel war, tensions and fears of a broader regional conflict have grown.
Hezbollah, the powerful Hamas ally across Israel's northern border in Lebanon, and its huge arsenal have received much attention since the war began on Oct. 7. The group has traded so far limited strikes with Israel on the border.
However, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have also threatened to attack U.S. facilities over American support for Israel.
Ahmad "Abu Hussein" al-Hamidawi, the head of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, said, "Our missiles, drones, and special forces will direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battle." He also threatened to launch missiles at Israeli targets.
Following Tuesday night's bomb that killed hundreds at a hospital in Gaza, the group issued another statement in which it blamed the U.S. and its support for Israel for the catastrophe and called for an end to the U.S. presence in Iraq. Hamas has claimed that the explosion in Gaza was an Israeli airstrike, while Israel has said it was the result of a misfired rocket.
Unless these evil people leave the country, they will taste the fire of hell before the afterlife, the statement said.
A U.S. defense official, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to comment, confirmed the attack on the al-Asad military base.
