Iranian proxies attack US base in Iraq for the first time in months

Editor’s notice: This story has been up to date.

An Iran-backed militant group attacked a U.S. base in Iraq Tuesday, the primary such assault since a minimum of April, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday.

Two armed air drones flew towards Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq, Pentagon Spokesperson Sabrina Singh mentioned in a briefing.

American forces shot one down, and the opposite one hit the bottom, with “minimal injury,” Singh mentioned.

Singh didn’t say which group launched the assault, besides that it was doubtless considered one of a number of teams supported by Iran which have all focused American forces since final fall.

She additionally didn’t point out whether or not the U.S. would retaliate for the strike, besides to say that taking pictures down one of many drones was itself a response.

It’s not but clear, Singh mentioned, whether or not there could be extra assaults to come back or if this was a one-off.

Because the conflict in Gaza started final 12 months, following the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on Israel, U.S. floor forces in Iraq and Syria have come below fireplace from Iranian-backed proxies.

From October to February, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched common drone assaults on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, which they mentioned was in retaliation for Washington’s help of Israel within the ongoing conflict in Gaza and had been geared toward forcing U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq.

These assaults halted after three U.S. troopers had been killed in a strike on a base in Jordan, close to the Syrian border in late January, prompting U.S. retaliatory strikes in Iraq, together with one in central Baghdad that killed a militia commander.

U.S. troops on the bottom in these nations have confronted greater than 100 assaults since October.

In the meantime, at sea, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched a near-daily barrage of missiles and drones at U.S. Navy ships and business vessels within the Crimson Sea and Gulf of Aden.

U.S. forces have intercepted the assaults and likewise struck Houthi websites in Yemen.

The Related Press contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier model of this report misstated the final time Iranian proxies had attacked U.S. floor forces within the Center East. The final assault earlier than this week’s incident was in April.