Rockets Fired at US Base in Iraq, No Casualties Reported

On Thursday, Multiple rockets were fired at a US base in Iraq, an attack that came after US and Iraqi officials held talks on the future of the US military presence in the country.

According to Reuters, the attack targeted the Ain al-Asad airbase, and no casualties or damage was reported. US officials said the base itself was not hit by the rockets.

From October 2023 until February, US bases in Iraq and Syria came under hundreds of rocket and drone attacks. Iraqi Shia militias launched began the attacks in response to US support for the Israeli onslaught in Gaza.

After three US troops were killed in an attack on Tower 22, a secretive base in Jordan on the Syrian border, Iran and the Iraqi government pressured the militias to stop, and there have only been a handful of attacks since February.

The Iraqi militias fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which is part of Iraq’s official security forces. The PMF militias, including Kataib Hezbollah, want the US to withdraw and have been pressuring Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to expel US forces.

Reuters reported on Monday that the Iraqi government wants the US to start drawing down troops in September and complete the mission of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition by September 2025. But the report said some US troops will likely stay in a different capacity.