Baghdad (Iraq): Two American soldiers and a British soldier were killed in the deadliest rocket attack in years on an Iraqi military base hosting foreign troops.
The attack threatens a dangerous escalation, with suspected US-led coalition air strikes promptly targeting Iran-aligned Iraqi fighters in neighbouring Syria, a war monitor said. At least 18 fighters were reportedly killed.
On Wednesday evening, a volley of 18 rockets hit the Taji air base north of Baghdad which hosts troops from the US-led coalition helping local forces battle jihadists. A coalition statement said three of its personnel were killed and another 12 were wounded.
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The Coalition @CJTFOIR confirms more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq’s Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops, March 11 at 7:35 p.m. (Iraq Time). Assessment and investigation ongoing, follow @OIRSpox & @SecMedCell for updates. https://t.co/oNgNfCEYG7
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) March 11, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">The Coalition @CJTFOIR confirms more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq’s Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops, March 11 at 7:35 p.m. (Iraq Time). Assessment and investigation ongoing, follow @OIRSpox & @SecMedCell for updates. https://t.co/oNgNfCEYG7
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) March 11, 2020The Coalition @CJTFOIR confirms more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq’s Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops, March 11 at 7:35 p.m. (Iraq Time). Assessment and investigation ongoing, follow @OIRSpox & @SecMedCell for updates. https://t.co/oNgNfCEYG7
— OIR Spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III (@OIRSpox) March 11, 2020
The Iraqi military said the rockets were fired from the back of a truck, but it did not comment on any casualties.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab condemned the attack in a telephone call.
"The two underscored that those responsible for the attacks must be held accountable," the US State Department said in a statement.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Washington has blamed Iran-backed factions from Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi military network, which is incorporated into the Iraqi state, for recent similar violence.
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Within hours of Wednesday's attack, three warplanes likely belonging to the US-led coalition bombed Hashed factions stationed on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
At least 18 Iraqi fighters were killed as "ten explosions shook the area near Albukamal," a Syrian border town with a heavy Hashed presence, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Hardline Hashed factions have fought alongside Syrian government forces for several years and have been targeted by both coalition and Israeli air strikes in Syria.
A US drone strike outside the Baghdad airport on January 3 killed powerful Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and the Hashed's deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Iran then retaliated by launching a volley of missiles at the western Iraqi base of Ain Al-Asad. While no personnel were killed in that attack, dozens of US soldiers suffered from brain trauma.
The tit-for-tat attacks on Iraqi soil left Baghdad furious, and in January its parliament voted to expel all foreign soldiers from Iraq in reaction to the killing of Soleimani.
Among them are some 5,200 US forces stationed across Iraq as part of the international coalition -- comprised of dozens of countries -- formed in 2014 to confront the Islamic State jihadist group, which took swathes of territory that year.
(With inputs from AFP)
