This may be in retaliation for the US killing Qassem Soleimani.
Iran has reportedly just fired multiple missiles at US military targets in Iraq, likely in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s decision last week to kill Qassem Suleimani, the leader of Iran’s most elite military and intelligence force.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a part of Iran’s military in which Suleimani was a leading figure, claimed responsibility for the attack. For days, Iranian officials signaled that they would strike US military targets in response to Soleimani’s killing. It’s possible this is that attack.
The White House has already put out a statement about the attack saying that Trump “is monitoring the situation.” Two US officials — one in the White House and one in the Pentagon — told me that rockets were launched at Al Asad airbase.
White House statement on attacks in Iraq pic.twitter.com/PKnZZc2V5b
— Laura Litvan (@LauraLitvan) January 7, 2020
Details are still sketchy, and the story is still developing, but here’s what we do and don’t know so far. We will continue updating this story as we learn more.
What we know
- Over six rockets have reportedly hit the Al Asad airbase located west of Baghdad where US and Iraqi troops reside. There are also reports of rockets landing on US targets in Erbil in Iraq’s north. So far there are no confirmed reports of anyone dead, injured, or even damage.
What we don’t know
- The exact reason for this attack
- If anyone has been injured or killed
- What the US response will be to the attack
Author: Alex Ward
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