Rockets strike Iraqi base hosting foreign forces for 3rd time in a week

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American troops began training Iraqi troops at the Basmaya camp in 2015 and NATO training activities began at the site in 2018.

TZVI JOFFRE

MARCH 17, 2020 09:58
US soldiers walk near a rocket launcher missile at Basmaya military base in Baghdad (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED AMEEN)
US soldiers walk near a rocket launcher missile at Basmaya military base in Baghdad (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED AMEEN)

Rockets struck an Iraqi base that hosts foreign forces on Tuesday, according to AFP.

The Iraqi Al Sumaria news reported that two rockets struck the Basmaya camp, located south of Baghdad, on Tuesday.

American troops began training Iraqi troops at the Basmaya camp in 2015 and NATO training activities as part of the NATO Mission Iraq training mission began at the site in 2018.

The attack comes just three days after 33 rockets were fired at the Taji base north of Baghdad which houses US-led coalition troops, critically injuring several Iraqi air defense servicemen, according to Reuters.

One US soldier, one US contractor and one British soldier were killed in an attack in which 18 107 mm Katyusha rockets were fired on the Taji military camp last Wednesday. Arab reports indicated that about 12 other soldiers were injured in the attack as well. One Polish soldier was also reportedly injured in the attack.

Camp Taji, a base holding US troops, has been hit in the past by Katyusha rockets fired by Iranian-allied militias, including Kataeb Hezbollah – an Iraqi branch of the Lebanese Shiíte terrorist organization. In January, the camp was struck by Iranian ballistic missiles in an attack carried out in response to the assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. During the attack, a Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down over Tehran. According to Iranian officials, it was mistakenly identified as a cruise missile fired by US forces.

Unidentified aircraft carried out airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria soon after the attack, killing at least 18 Iraqi nationals. The US confirmed that it was carrying out retaliatory strikes in Iraq against Iran-backed militias in response to the rocket attack on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The Pentagon squarely blamed Iran-backed militia for Wednesday’s attack, which also wounded 14 people.

Iraq’s presidency condemned the attack that targeted the Taji military camp, the state news agency said on early Thursday “This aggression targets Iraq’s security,” presidency added in a statement, stressing the need for an investigation into the attack.

Leon Sverdlov contributed to this report.

Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Rockets-strike-Iraqi-base-hosting-foreign-forces-report-621267.

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