The US military base at the Al-Asad airfield was hit by a missile attack, which resulted in five U.S. military personnel being wounded.

Reuters reported on this, citing its own sources.

Two Katyusha rockets were fired at al Asad airbase in western Iraq, two Iraqi security sources said. One Iraqi security source said the missiles fell inside the base.

At least five U.S. personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday. The casualty count was based on initial reports which could still change. One of the wounded Americans was seriously injured.

“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” one of the officials added.

The air base in western Iraq has been actively used by the US military since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Personnel, army, and military transport aircraft of the U.S. Army are based there.

A similar attack using a multiple launch rocket system was carried out on the Al-Assad airfield on July 26, 2024. At that time, there were no reports of casualties or damage.

However, the largest attack in recent times took place on January 20, 2024, when Iranian-backed militants fired 15 ballistic missiles. Thirteen were shot down by the deployed Patriot system, and two hit the base.

The US military contingent in Iraq

Iraqi political and military circles are putting pressure on the US government to withdraw the military contingent of coalition forces, in particular, about 2,500 US troops stationed at several bases in the country.

At the beginning of the year, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani issued a statement saying that a committee would be formed to “take steps to permanently end the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq.”

“We reiterate our firm position on the termination of the international coalition after the grounds for its existence run out,” the Prime Minister’s statement was quoted.

At the same time, Washington and the Iraqi government have repeatedly stated that they want to move to bilateral security relations, which will probably require leaving some U.S. troops in Iraq as advisors.