- At least five US soldiers have been injured in Iraq.
- Two Katyusha rockets fired at Al Asad airbase.
- Blinken calls on Iraqi PM to help ease tensions
WASHINGTON: At least five US servicemen were wounded in an attack on a military base in Iraq on Monday, US officials said. Reutersas the Middle East braces for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's killing of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Two Iraqi security sources said two Katyusha rockets were fired at the al-Asad airbase in western Iraq. An Iraqi security source said the rockets landed inside the base. It was not clear whether the attack was linked to Iran's threats to retaliate for the killing of the Hamas leader.
U.S. officials who spoke with Reuters The Defense Department spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said one of the wounded Americans was seriously injured. The casualty count is based on initial reports that could still change, he added.
“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” one of the officials added.
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated last week in the Iranian capital Tehran in an attack that prompted threats of revenge from Iran against Israel. Iran blamed Israel for the killing, but Israel did not claim responsibility.
The killings, coupled with Israel's assassination of Hezbollah's top military commander, Fuad Shukr, in a raid on Beirut last week, have fueled concerns that the Gaza conflict is spiraling into a wider Middle East war.
Iran has said the United States is responsible for Haniyeh's assassination because of its support for Israel.
In a call on Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant agreed the attack marked “a dangerous escalation,” according to a Pentagon report.
Last week, the United States carried out a strike in Iraq against individuals who U.S. officials said were militants preparing to launch drones and posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces.
The United States has been watching to see whether Iran will follow through on its promise to respond to the killing of Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran, one of a series of assassinations of senior figures in the Palestinian resistance group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues.
The Pentagon has said it will deploy additional fighter jets and warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster defenses in the wake of threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iraq, a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, hosts 2,500 American troops and has Iranian-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has seen an escalation of reciprocal attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October.
Iraq wants US-led military coalition troops to begin withdrawing in September and formally end coalition work by September 2025, Iraqi sources said, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.
Baghdad has struggled to rein in Iranian-backed armed groups that have attacked U.S. forces there and in neighboring Syria dozens of times since Oct. 7.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani spoke with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday.
An Iraqi official said Blinken asked Sudani to help ease regional tensions by helping convince Iran to moderate its response to what it says was an Israeli strike in Tehran that killed the Hamas leader last week.
US Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, head of the US Central Command, is currently in the Middle East. One of the US officials said Kurilla was talking to allies to ensure there was coordination in the event of an Iranian attack on Israel.
