A photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain Al Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. AP
A photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain Al Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. AP
A photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain Al Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. AP
A photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain Al Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. AP

Ain Al Asad: rockets hit Iraqi base hosting US troops


Layla Mashkoor
  • English
  • Arabic

Three rockets hit Iraq's Ain Al Asad military base hosting US troops on Monday afternoon, US coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said.

The rockets struck the perimeter of the base at about 2.45pm, without causing any injuries. The damage is still being assessed, he said.

Photos posted on social media showed a large plume of smoke rising above the base.

The Ain Al Asad base in Anbar province hosts the largest contingent of US troops in Iraq.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the US has previously blamed Iran-backed militia groups for launching repeated rocket attacks against American troops in Iraq.

In response, the US last week launched air strikes against Iranian-supported Iraqi militias operating in Iraq and Syria.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the air strikes were intended to send a "strong message" to stop attacks on US forces in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi called the strikes an "unacceptable violation of Iraqi sovereignty and Iraqi national security".

Rather than deterring the militias, the strikes prompted retaliatory attacks as the groups called for revenge against the US.

One day after the US attack, American troops came under fire from Iran-backed groups operating in eastern Syria. No casualties were reported.


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Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

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Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Updated: July 05, 2021, 2:00 PM