Iranian Proxies Target US Airbase In Iraq

A member of Iraqi security forces is seen at Ain al-Asad airbase in the Anbar province, Iraq December 29, 2019.
A member of Iraqi security forces is seen at Ain al-Asad airbase in the Anbar province, Iraq December 29, 2019.

Another US airbase has been targeted by Iran-backed proxy forces in Iraq, taking the attacks since the Gaza war broke out on October 7 to around 100.

Assad Air Base in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, was targeted by a 122mm rocket. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a post on X that the offensive took place at 7:30 a.m. (Iraq time) on Wednesday. The infrastructure and forces sustained no damage or injury, the post said.

After information shared by the international coalition forces, known as Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraqi forces discovered “a flatbed truck modified to launch up to 5 x 122mm rockets,” CENTCOM added.

Since Hamas’s deadly onslaught on Israel on October 7, extremist militant groups in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, backed by Iran, have launched attacks against US and Israeli targets in the region, claiming allegiance with Iran-backed Hamas.

Earlier in the month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Iraq to fulfill its commitments to protect all bases hosting US troops.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has limited control over the Iranian-backed militias, whose support he needed to win power a year ago and who now form a powerful bloc in his governing coalition.

Yemen’s Houthis have also vowed to target US and Israeli interests in the Red Sea, causing the US to form a 10 nation coalition to combat the threats. In spite of this move, the Biden administration is receiving more and more criticism over its failure to deter Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.

Though the Islamic Republic has denied direct military involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the regime has used its allies such as Houthis and Hezbollah to attack Israeli and American targets in the region.