US Airstrike Neutralizes Rocket Threat Near Ain Al-Asad Base in Iraq
Iraqi Army sources claim that a US airstrike destroyed a hostile rocket position near the Ain Al-Asad air base late Monday night, allegedly thwarting a planned attack against the installation.
The US conducted the strike after a pickup truck with a rocket launcher hoisted to the back was parked in an area roughly 7 kilometers (4 miles) east of the base, with at least two rockets prepared to be fired, the sources explain.
Located in western Iraq, Ain al-Assad air base hosts a significant number of US and international coalition forces, making it a prime target for rocket and drone attacks by insurgent groups opposed to American military involvement in the Middle East. Hostility towards US and allied troops in Iraq and Syria has skyrocketed since the Israel-Hamas war began, with current estimates suggesting that there have been over 100 instances of such attacks since October.
These attacks are thought to be primarily coordinated and executed by Iran-backed militias. These armed groups, made up predominantly of Iraqi and Syrian Shias, are fiercely antagonistic towards Israel and staunchly oppose the country’s war in Gaza; they form a larger ideologically aligned network that includes organizations like Lebanon’s Hizbullah, Hamas in Gaza, and the Yemen-based Houthi rebels.
The US and allied military presence in Iraq and Syria is made up of 2,500 and 900 troops, respectively. The force, which was established in 2014 after the Islamic State conquered and declared a caliphate over a large territory of Iraq and Syria, is now primarily centered on inhibiting the jihadist group from mounting a resurgence in the region.
