U.S. soldiers conduct an artillery exercise at al Asad Air Base in Iraq in December 2023. (Quince Lanford/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — A drone launched by Iran-backed militants struck a base in western Iraq where U.S. and other international forces are deployed, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The militants launched two drones Tuesday targeting al Asad Air Base in Iraq. One of the drones was shot down and the other hit the base causing minimal damage, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.
No casualties have been reported, according to a Reuters report.
This was the first attack against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since April. At the time, a fighter jet from the U.S.-led coalition in the two countries destroyed a militant rocket launcher after a failed attack near a base in Syria hosting U.S. troops. No U.S. personnel were injured in the attack at the base near Rumalyn, the Pentagon had said.
Also in April, there were reports that drones were launched at al Asad. There was no indication whether al Asad was the target, defense officials said at the time. But the Pentagon confirmed Thursday that there was an attack near al Asad on April 22.
The U.S. military began airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on Feb. 2 in response to a Jan. 28 drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers. U.S. forces struck some 85 targets, and military officials credited the response for deterring militant groups in the two countries from continuing attacks against U.S. forces.
After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel, Iran-linked groups launch some 175 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria. The surprise attack by Hamas fighters raised tensions across the region as Israel launched a retaliatory war against Gaza, the Palestinian enclave controlled by Hamas.
The attack Tuesday comes less than a week before an expected visit by a high-level Iraqi military delegation to Washington to continue talks on ending the U.S.-led military coalition in the country, Reuters reported.
U.S. and Iraqi officials initiated discussions in January about the future of the U.S.-led mission to defeat the Islamic State, including the presence of American troops in the country.
