An aerial picture taken from a helicopter shows the US-run Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. (Photo by AP)
A barrage of rockets has reportedly targeted Ain al-Asad air base in Iraqs western province of Anbar, where American military forces and trainers are stationed on alleged training and advisory missions.
Russias RT Arabic television news network, citing local sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that three 122mm BM-21 Grad rockets had targeted the military facility, located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, on Sunday.
The report added that the rockets had been fired from a village in the al-Baghdadi district.
One of the projectiles landed inside the air base, while the second one was intercepted and shot down by missile systems. The third rocket fell on the outskirts of the base.
There were no immediate reports of casualties as a result of the rocket attack.
Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also reported that the Ain al-Asad air base had come under a rocket attack.
The development comes a day after an explosive-laden drone hit the same US-run military base.
"The drone came down inside the (Ain al-Asad) base" in the western province of Anbar, without causing any casualties or damage, an Iraqi military source told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.
A statement issued on Sabereen News said the attack was carried out by a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
A second Iraqi security source told AFP the attack had involved two unmanned aerial vehicles.
"The first was intercepted and the second crashed because of a technical problem," the source said.
Since Wednesday, three Iraqi bases used by the US-led coalition troops purportedly fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group have been targeted in five separate attacks - Ain al-Asad, the al-Harir base in Erbil, capital of Iraqs semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, and a military camp near Baghdad airport.
They came after Iraqi resistance factions warned the United States against funding and supporting Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Iraqs anti-terror group Kataib Hezbollah has threatened to target American bases in Iraq and the entire region if Washington intervenes in the ongoing Gaza war.
Health officials in Gaza say the Israeli bombardment has killed at least 4,385 people since October 7, when fighters from the Hamas resistance movement launched an unprecedented large-scale attack against the occupying Israeli regime. More than 14,000 individuals have also been injured.
The officials stressed that 70 percent of the fatalities include children, women, and the elderly, warning that the number is expected to soar as more people are being killed and wounded in the relentless Israeli air raids, and more bodies are being extracted from under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/27957
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