ALI AL-SAADI/AFP via Getty Images
- Ten rockets struck a base hosting US forces in Iraq early Wednesday.
- There are no reports of any injuries.
- Tensions are increasing ahead of the Pope's visit, and between the US and Iran.
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Ten rockets hit an airbase in Iraq hosting US-led coalition and Iraqi troops, officials in the country said.
Col. Wayne Marotto, a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition of forces fighting terrorist group Isis in the country, said that the rockets targeted the Al Asad Airbase in western Iraq at about 7 a.m local time.
—OIR Spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto (@OIRSpox) March 3, 2021
There were no immediate reports of any injuries, Iraq's military told Reuters. An Iraqi military source said the attack was launched from just west of Baghdadi city.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack, according to reports.
The attack is the second on international forces in the country within a month.
A February 16 rocket attack on a northern Iraqi airbase, used by the US military, killed a US civilian contractor and injured a US soldier. The attack was claimed by a Shia militant group believed to be backed by Iranian militias funded by Iran, reported The Guardian.
Last week, the Biden administration launched airstrikes in Syria targeting Iran-backed militias whom it accused of supporting attacks on US forces in Iraq.
US forces have been targeted in recent months by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, with tensions ratcheting up after the Trump administration assassinated the top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in January 2020.
Wednesday's attack comes amid heightened tensions in Iraq.
Pope Francis is scheduled to make the first papal visit to the country on Friday under tight security, with a suicide bombing killing 30 people at a Baghdad market in January amid deteriorating security.
US forces are currently stationed in the country to fight ISIS, which is seeking to regroup after being ousted from its power bases in the country by Iraqi forces fighting alongside coalition forces and Iran-based militias.
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