SAMARRA, Iraq: A volley of rockets slammed into an Iraqi air base north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops, the Iraqi military said on Sunday.
Its statement said eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad air base, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen.
Al-Balad is the main air base for Iraq’s F-16s, which it bought from the US to upgrade its air capacities.
The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated following tensions between the US and Iran over the past two weeks, military sources told AFP.
“About 90 percent of the US advisers, and employees of Sallyport and Lockheed Martin who are specialized in aircraft maintenance, have withdrawn to Taji and Irbil after threats,” one of the sources said.
“There are no more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at Al-Balad,” the source added.
Military bases hosting US troops have been subject to volleys of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months that have mostly wounded Iraqi forces, but also killed one American contractor last month.
That death set off a series of dramatic developments, with the US carrying out strikes against a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq as well as a convoy carrying top Iranian and Iraqi commanders outside Baghdad airport.
Pro-Iran factions in Iraq have vowed revenge for those raids, even as Iran said it had already responded in “proportion” by striking another western air base where US soldiers are located.
Rocket attacks against Baghdad’s high-security Green Zone, where the US and other embassies are based alongside international troops, are still taking place.
Rockets hit Iraq base hosting US troops — military
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Rockets hit Iraq base hosting US troops — military
- The attack occurred at Al-Balad — the main air base for Iraq’s F-16s bought from the US
- No more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at Al-Balad, says source
