Rocket Attack Kills Two US Troops and British Soldier on Iraq Base
Jose Nino
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On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, two U.S. troops and a British solider were killed in a rocket attack on a military base in Iraq, according to a U.S. official.
In addition, the official reported that roughly a dozen coalition personnel were injured during the attack. However, this was the initial report and could be subject to change.
Foreign coalition members suffered wounds ranging from “light to critical”, a coalition official told AFP.
Britain’s Defense Ministry stated it was “aware of an incident involving UK service personnel” in Iraq and an investigation was being conducted.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the attack as “deplorable” and said the UK foreign minister had reached out US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Myles Caggins revealed that more than 15 rockets struck the base, which is located close to Baghdad.
Previously, the Iraqi army said the attack on the Taji base did not bring about any injuries or damage.
According to Iraqi security forces, they discovered the launch vehicle that was allegedly used to carry out the attacks.
Images posted on social media showed a vehicle that was converted to launch Katyusha rockets.
The U.S. government has blamed Iran-backed factions from Iraq’s Hashed Al Shaabi military network for recent attacks that shared a similar M.O.
After Wednesday’s attack, three warplanes likely belonging to the US-led coalition attacked Hashed positions on Iraq’s border with Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“Ten explosions shook the area near Albukamal,” said the organization’s head, Rami Abdulrahman.
Tensions have been heating up since the U.S. government took out Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani earlier in January.
This is another illustration why the U.S. should completely abandon the Middle East, a region that is condemned to instability.
Hopefully, Trump gets the memo and starts pulling troops out of the region.
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