Iran threat to US troops in Iraq remains 'significant'

US army soldiersstand on duty at the K1 airbase northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq last month. (AFP/File)

• David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department, did not give any details about the threat

WASHINGTON: Iranian-backed militia pose a continuing and "significant" threat to US forces in Iraq, the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East said on Thursday, about a week after US President Donald Trump warned of a sneak attack by Iran or its proxies.
Speaking to reporters in a teleconference, David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. State Department, did not give any details about the threat. "It continues to be significant," he said.
Iran-backed paramilitary groups have regularly been rocketing and shelling bases in Iraq that host US forces and the area around the US embassy in Baghdad.
Schenker's comments came after three Katyushka rockets landed near a district in southern Iraq that houses workers for foreign oil companies on Monday, including US oil service company Halliburton. No casualties or damage were reported.