Iran attacks multiple locations in Iraq including airbase having US forces

WASHINGTON: Iran fired missiles and attacked multiple locations in Iraq, including the al Asad airbase that hosts US forces. A US official told Reuters on Tuesday, without providing additional information. It was unclear what other sites may have been attacked. Tensions have mounted with Iran following a US drone strike on December 3 (Friday) that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

Another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had confirmed to Reuters earlier that a rocket attack had taken place against al Asad airbase, but did not confirm other sites. US President Donald Trump visited the base in his December 2018 trip to Iraq. Earlier, Al Mayadeen TV had said that at least six rockets landed at Iraq`s Ain Al-Asad air base that hosts US Forces. Ain al-Asad airbase is located in the western Anbar province.

Sirens were heard and American helicopters were seen flying over at the Ain al-Asad air base on Wednesday, according to al Mayadeen TV. Also, total alert state was activated after the base was hit by rockets.

On December 7 (Tuesday), Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had said in an interview with CNN that the killing of a top Iranian general by the United States was an act of state terrorism and Iran will respond proportionately. Zarif had said US President Donald Trump had displayed a lack of respect for international law by threatening Iran`s cultural sites. “This is state terrorism,” Zarif had said on the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard`s Quds Force, in a US drone attack in Baghdad last week.

“This is an act of aggression against Iran, and it amounts to an armed attack against Iran, and we will respond. But we will respond proportionately – not disproportionately … We are not lawless like President Trump.” Trump had said the US was ready to strike 52 Iranian sites, including some important to Iranian culture, if Iran attacked US assets or Americans. On Sunday, he said the United States would strike back “perhaps in a disproportionate manner” if Iran attacked any American target.

Zarif had said Trump had shown the world he was “prepared to commit war crimes because attacking cultural sites is a war crime. The disproportionate response is a war crime”. Soleimani was responsible for building up Tehran`s network of proxy armies across the Middle East and he was a key figure in orchestrating Iran`s long-standing campaign to drive US forces out of its neighbour Iraq.