(Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
The United States military has launched a series of strikes after multiple short-range ballistic missiles were launched against American forces at Ayn al-Asad Airbase in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar on November 21.
An AC-130 gunship had responded immediately to the attack, firing on individuals responsible for the missile attack. The next day, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the U.S. had also launched precision airstrikes on two facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah armed faction.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on November 21 that the attack by Iranian-backed militants resulted in “several non-serious injuries and some minor damage to infrastructure.” It marked, according to Singh, the first time that a ballistic missile was used since attacks on U.S. forces began on October 17.
The CENTCOM said later on November 22 that the airstrikes were “in direct response to the attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces by Iran and Iran-backed groups, including the one in Iraq on November 21, which involved use of close-range ballistic missiles.”
A defense official told CNN that the facilities, an operations center and command and control node near al-Anbar and Jurf al Saqr to the south of Baghdad, were used by Kataib Hezbollah to “support recent attacks on U.S. and coalition bases in Iraq and Syria.”
“Initial evaluation of the strikes indicate that U.S. forces successfully destroyed the intended facilities. Additionally, we can confirm the presence of Kataib Hezbollah personnel,” the official said. “We’re unable to provide a casualty assessment at this time.”
Iraq media reported the death of a fighter in the AC-130 attack and at least eight others in later strikes on Kataib Hezbollah facilities.
The so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) claimed responsibility for the attack and said that it was carried out in response to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. It also released videos showing the launch of what appear to be an Ababil-2 suicide drone on November 20 and two Fath 360 on November 21 at Ayn al-Assad. Both weapons are Iranian-made. In addition, Kataib Hezbollah is thought to be one of the IRI main factions.
Another video that surfaced online on November 22 showed a large fire at the air base. The footage was allegedly taken after the missile attack.
The IRI formed a special operations room to support Palestinian armed factions in Gaza and began launching attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria following the October 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital massacre.
The U.S. unconditional support to Israel and its recent strikes on Iraq will likely lead to a dangerous escalation. There are already reports of more attacks on Ayn al-Assad and on two other U.S. bases, al-Hariri in the northern Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan and al-Shaddadi in the northeastern Syrian province of al-Hasakah.
