Iran attacks two military sites in Iraq: What we know so far

This is likely in retaliation for the US killing Qassem Soleimani.

Iran has fired multiple missiles at two US military targets in Iraq in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s decision last week to kill Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s most elite military and intelligence force.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a part of Iran’s military in which Soleimani was a leading figure, claimed responsibility for the attack, and top-level Iranian officials are already boasting about the strikes. For days, Iranian leaders signaled that they would strike US military targets in response to Soleimani’s killing.

The White House has already put out a statement about the attack saying that Trump “is monitoring the situation” and the secretary of defense and secretary of state have arrived at the White House.

The Pentagon put out a statement saying that “Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq” at Al Asad airbase west of Baghdad and at Erbil in northern Iraq.

It’s important to note that Iran doesn’t have missiles that can reach the US mainland from Iran, nor does it have a nuclear weapon. It’s why Iran uses proxies and weapons at its disposal mainly to strike US targets and American allies in the Middle East.

However, Iran has threatened to attack inside the US if America responds specifically to this assault — which means an Iranian strike inside the US isn’t imminent. Iran has also vowed to attack the cities of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Haifa in Israel if Iranian soil is bombed.

Details of this attack are still developing, but here’s what we do and don’t know so far. We will continue to update this story as we learn more.

What we know

• The Pentagon says Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at US and coalition forces in Iraq, many of which hit the Al Asad airbase, located west of Baghdad, where US and Iraqi troops reside.
• The Pentagon says missiles were also shot at US military and other personnel in Erbil, Iraq.
• So far there are no confirmed reports of anyone killed or injured, or of damage being sustained.
• Iran has threatened to attack inside the US if America retaliates to this specific assault. Iran has also vowed to attack the cities of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Haifa in Israel if Iranian soil is bombed.

What we don’t know

• If anyone has been injured or killed
• Whether the attack is over or if another wave is possible
• What the US response will be to the attack