US personnel suffer minor injuries in Iraq base attack

AYMAN HENNA/ AFP (File photo)

US personnel suffered minor injuries and a member of Iraq's security forces was wounded in an attack on Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base on Saturday, a US official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The US military's Central Command said in a statement that the base was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets fired by Iranian-backed militants from inside Iraq. The statement did not confirm the extent of any US injuries but said personnel were being evaluated for traumatic brain injury.

The US military's assessment was more severe than initial accounts from security sources in Iraq, who, along with an Iraqi government source, had only reported rocket fire against the base.

Offering a sense of the scale of the attack, Central Command said most of the missiles were intercepted though others hit the base.

"Damage assessments are ongoing," Central Command said, adding the attack took place at 1830 in Iraq (1530 GMT).

"At least one Iraqi service member was wounded."

Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the US military has come under attack at least 58 times in Iraq and another 83 times in Syria, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.

More from International news

  • US prosecutors to seek death penalty for Luigi Mangione

    U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of shooting and killing the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's insurance division Brian Thompson in New York last year.

  • UN warns window to find Myanmar quake survivors closing

    Aid groups in Myanmar on Tuesday described scenes of devastation and desperation after an earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, stressing an urgent need for food, water and shelter and warning the window to find survivors was fast closing.

  • Trump administration begins mass layoffs at health agencies

    The Trump administration has fired staff at U.S. health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, as it embarked on its plan to cut 10,000 health jobs, according to sources familiar with the situation and a health official.

  • Israel says it 'eliminated' Hezbollah operative in Beirut strike

    The Israeli military said it killed a Hezbollah operative in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs early on Tuesday, while three other people were reported killed and seven injured, further testing a shaky four-month ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

News