US personnel injured in missile attack on Al Asad airbase in Iraq
Several members of the US military sustained injuries in a missile strike on an airbase in western Iraq. The Al Asad airbase, housing American troops, was targeted by ballistic missiles and rockets on Saturday evening, according to the US military’s Central Command.
An unspecified number of US personnel are currently “undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries.”
The attack, claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a group formed in late 2023 comprising Iran-affiliated armed factions in Iraq, resulted in at least one Iraqi service member being wounded.
The Al Asad base has faced repeated attacks in recent years, and this incident is part of a series targeting US positions by Iran’s proxies since the onset of the Israel-Gaza conflict last October.
Despite most missiles being intercepted, some successfully struck the base, and an assessment of the damage is ongoing. The US military and its allies have been actively countering missile attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea aimed at international shipping.
US forces carried out another airstrike on Saturday against the Houthis – an Iran-backed rebel group controlling much of western Yemen. The US military said it targeted a launch site, after identifying an anti-ship missile “that was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and prepared to launch”.
The Iranian military has carried out a number of missile strikes in recent days against targets in Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus which killed five senior members of Iran’s security forces
