U.S., Iraqi, and French troops participate in an artillery exercise at al Asad Air Base in Iraq in December 2023. (Quince Lanfor/U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON — Several U.S. personnel were injured Monday in a rocket attack on a military base in Iraq, a defense official said.

“We can confirm that there was a suspected rocket attack today against U.S. and coalition forces at al Asad Air Base, Iraq,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Initial indications are that several U.S. personnel were injured. Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment.”

Two Katyusha rockets were fired at the base in western Iraq, Reuters reported.

The latest incident comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday ordered additional warships and a fighter squadron to the Middle East to bolster defenses in the region. The decision to move U.S. forces came ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

Israel had pledged to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the militant group’s Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. The strike came just after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran and hours after Israel targeted a top commander for the Iran-backed Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, which is now deployed in the Middle East. Other assets include deploying additional land-based ballistic missile defenses and a fighter squadron to the region.

U.S. bases in the region have been prone to attacks. After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, Iran-linked groups launched some 175 rocket and drone strikes on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.