Military bases hosting American troops in Iraq and Syria were struck by rockets and indirect fire in at least three separate attacks on Wednesday. The United States( US)-led military coalition fighting Islamic State (IS) militants in the region said that the attacks were carried out by Iran-backed militias, who have targeted Washington and its allies for the third day in a row.
No casualties were reported from the attacks, which have coincided with the second anniversary of the US assassination of Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani. The Associated Press reported that a Katyusha rocket struck a military base hosting coalition troops at Baghdad’s international airport shortly after militants fired at a base in Syria.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Wednesday that these attacks are “very much typical” of attacks “by militia groups that are supported by Iran.” He added it was difficult to “know with great specificity and certainty” what prompted these attacks. “It is certainly possible that it could be related to the anniversary of the Soleimani strike,” he added.
Iran observed the second anniversary of Soleimani’s death on January 3 and called on the United Nations (UN) to take formal action against the US for assassinating Soleimani. In January 2020, a US drone strike killed Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, collectively known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF).
On Monday, coalition forces shot down two armed drones aimed at the military base in Baghdad. The following day, two similar drones targeted an Iraqi base housing US troops in the Anbar Province. The US retaliated by launching airstrikes on Tuesday against rocket launching sites in Syria.
Kirby noted with concern that even though the US had shifted its mission from a combat to an advisory role, “troops advising and assisting Iraqi forces are at risk” from Iran-backed militias.
US military installations in Iraq and Syria have increasingly come under attack from local militias aligned with Iran. In May, the Ain Al Asad military base in the Anbar province was targeted in a drone attack. In April, five people, including two foreign contractors and three Iraqi soldiers, were wounded in a rocket attack on the US-made Balad airbase situated in Baghdad.
In December, Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Frank McKenzie said that he expects an increase in attacks by Iran-backed forces, who have been demanding that US forces leave Iraq.