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Iraq’s Joint Operations Command condemns Ain al-Assad attack

Dilan Sirwan

Aug. 06, 2024 • 2 min read
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The Iraqi Joint Operations Command on Tuesday condemned the attack on Ain al-Asad airbase, adding that they had recovered eight intact missiles from the vehicle the attack was launched from.

Iraq’s Joint Operations Command on Tuesday condemned the attack on Anbar’s Ain al-Asad airbase where US troops are housed, rejecting any interior or foreign attack on Iraqi land and interests.

 

The statement from the Joint Operations Command said that they “categorically reject any attack from inside or outside Iraq, on Iraqi lands, interests and targets, and from any party that carries out this attack or breach or assists in it in one way or another.”

 

The statement added that their forces had seized a Kia vehicle from which the missiles were launched and it contained eight intact missiles while two others were launched from it.

 

“The competent authorities and formations in our security forces, through intelligence and security work, have obtained important information about the perpetrators of this attack, and they are currently being pursued,” the statement read.

 

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the Monday missile attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq on Monday, which injured at least five US military personnel. 

 

The group, identifying themselves as "The Revolutionaries" (al-Thawriyoun) stated that they targeted the American-occupied base with several missiles and drones, vowing to continue their operations until all US troops leave Iraq.

 

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that one of the five injured Americans in the attack had sustained serious injuries.

 

Last Tuesday, the Pentagon said that US forces had carried out a “defensive” strike in Babil province targeting fighters who were trying to launch attack drones.

 

A Yemeni technical expert was among the four people killed in the strike.

 

According to the senior military commander, who spoke to The New Region on the condition of anonymity, the three Kataib Hezbollah members and the Yemeni Houthi technical expert “were testing a new generation of drones” near one of the Kataib Hezbollah’s headquarters in Jurf al-Sakhar when the strike targeted them.

 

Following the Monday attack, the Pentagon labeled the targeting of US forces as a "serious escalation." 

 

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Author Dilan Sirwan

Dilan Sirwan is an Erbil-based Kurdish journalist covering Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. He focuses on political, economic, and social issues.

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