4 Iraqi Troops Wounded in Attack on Air Base North of Baghda
Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2020 2:14 pm
FILE - An Iraqi army soldier stand guard near a U.S.-made Iraqi Air Force F-16 fighter jet, at the Balad Air Base, Iraq, Feb. 13, 2018.
Four members of Iraq's military were wounded in a rocket attack on a base north of Baghdad, Iraq's military said Sunday.
The attack on Balad air base, some 80 kilometers north of Baghdad, hosts American trainers. A U.S. defense official confirmed there were no Americans on base at the time.
Eight Katyusha rockets were fired at the base, just days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq which also house American military.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack.
The attack comes amid increasing tensions between Iran and the United States after a U.S. drone strike killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general, earlier this month.
The U.S. announced new sanctions on Iranian companies and eight senior officials, in response to the Iranian missile attacks against bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. U.S. officials have insisted Soleimani was plotting attacks on U.S. facilities.
VOA's Carla Babb contributed to this report.