Rockets Strike Iraqi Base Housing US Troops Hours After US Airstrikes

Iraq beefs up security around key air base


Hour after a flurry of US airstrikes against militia bases in Western Iraq and Syria, four rockets were fired at the al-Taji military base north of Baghdad, a base where US troops are being housed.

The rockets hit the base, but there is no word on damage done to the base, or how may casualties were inflicted. There has yet to be a claim of credit, though it’s almost certainly related to the US strikes earlier in the day.

The US attacks were targeting Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), a paramilitary umbrella group. Specifically, the US said they were attacking Kataib Hezbollah, a faction within the PMU.

The PMU is part of the Iraqi government, and the US is both blaming them for attacks on Iraqi military bases, and US forces. The Iraqi government has not directly responded to this claims.

The Iraqi military is beefing up security at Ain al-Asad air base, which is in the Anbar Province that the US has been attacking. It’s not clear if they are preparing to defend against militias from the PMU, or think the US might attack them as well. Clearly, the situation in Iraq right now is very fast-moving, and the details are not at all clear.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.