A rocket attack against a military base in Iraq left several U.S. personnel injured on Monday, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The attack hit the Al Asad airbase in Iraq — a military base hosting U.S. and coalition troops — and a post-incident assessment is now being carried out to determine the extent of the damage, one defense official told the DCNF, noting that further information would be made available as it was gathered. U.S. forces across the Middle East have come under fire in recent months from various terrorist organizations scattered throughout the region.
Seven U.S. personnel, including five servicemembers and two contractors, were injured in the attack, a defense official told the DCNF.
“Five injured personnel are receiving care at Al Asad Airbase and two have been evacuated for further care. All seven injured personnel are in stable condition,” the official told the DCNF, noting that the post-strike assessments “are still ongoing.”
The U.S. staged a strike in Iraq last week against targets that officials believed were preparing for a drone attack and posed an imminent threat to personnel, according to Reuters. Attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and the broader Middle East region have been frequent since Oct. 7, the day Hamas invaded Israel and sparked a regional war.
Three U.S. troops were previously killed in a drone attack against a coalition military base in Jordan in January, the only recorded incident of personnel deaths in the Middle East since Oct. 7.
The attack against the Al Asad base comes as Iran and Hezbollah are expected to launch retaliatory strikes against Israel in the coming days. Israel launched airstrikes against high-level Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and Iran last week, prompting vows of revenge from the terrorist groups.
The U.S. has recently made posture changes to its military forces in the Middle East region in preparation for a possible attack.
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