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The reports come following an attack against Iraq's Taji military base, which hosts US-led coalition troops. A coalition spokesperson confirmed that three personnel were killed during the attack, with "approximately 12 additional personnel" being wounded.US forces conducted airstrikes against an Iraqi militia base located in the Anbar province on the border with Syria, local media reported.
Sky News Arabia specified that the attack on Iraqi soil was against a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) base.
"US aircraft conduct
airstrikes against the al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia base in the area of al-Khuray village of Anbar province," the channel reported.
Along with reports from Iraq, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported that airstrikes were being carried out near a Syrian checkpoint on the border with Iraq in Deir ez-Zor's town of Abu Kamal. According to SANA, some material damage was caused by the attacks.
Syria's state Ikhbariya broadcaster noted that the
strikes on Syrian soil were conducted by "unidentified aircrafts".
It is unknown whether media outlets were reporting the same airstrikes.
Earlier in the day, the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh* terrorist group said that more than 15 small rockets
hit Iraq's Taji military base, which hosts its troops.
Following the coalition statement, multiple reports appeared, citing unnamed US officials, that at least
two US citizens and one British citizen had been killed in the rocket attack on the base. The reports added that multiple others were also wounded during the attack. Initial reports were confirmed by the coalition spokesperson, who said that three coalition personnel were killed and "approximately" 12 others being wounded during the attack.
Comment: RT provides more details on the
events that mark the latest escalation in the region:
Footage has emerged on social media purportedly showing a moment of the bombing raid by the US jets, with several explosions lighting up the night skies.
Several sources reported that the US responded to the attack with airstrikes against Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units in Anbar province, near the border of Iraq and Syria. No group has stepped forward to take responsibility for the attack on Camp Taji and no evidence has been presented linking any Iraqi militia to the rockets.
The rocket attack was the latest of several to hit US and coalition sites in Iraq over the past few months and the second strike on Camp Taji since January, when several rockets landed in and around the base, injuring a member of the Iraqi security forces. No group claimed responsibility for these acts.
The last time an American was killed in a rocket attack against an Iraqi base - at K-1 outside Kirkuk in December 2019 - Washington also responded with airstrikes against the PMU. This was followed by a cycle of escalation that involved an attempted storming of the US Embassy in Baghdad, a US drone strike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qassem Soleimani in January, and Iranian reprisal involving the targeting of two Iraqi bases that hosted US troops with ballistic missiles.
The Pentagon has insisted the threat of Iranian attack justifies beefing up its missile defense systems in Iraq, even though the Iraqi parliament has made clear following the Soleimani assassination that it wants all foreign troops out of the country.
A total of 18 rockets struck the base on Wednesday, the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) said in a statement. The dead and wounded have not been officially identified, pending the notification of their next of kin.
In a statement early on Thursday, the Iraqi president's office condemned the "terrorist attack" that left both trainers and advisers killed and wounded.
"This attack is targeting Iraq and its security, and we stress the need to conduct full investigations to determine its background and track the elements responsible for it."
Camp Taji is a major military base about 27km north of Baghdad, used by the coalition to train Iraqi security forces.
"Last night's attack on UK and coalition personnel was a cowardly and retrograde act," UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement after the MOD announced the casualty early on Thursday morning. "The people that did this are not friends of Iraq."
Some press accounts suggested the US had launched the strikes in retaliation for the assault on Camp Taji, but officials have yet to confirm American involvement. Footage shared on social media purported to show the moment of the counterattack.
See also:
15 rockets hit Iraqi base housing US troops in latest Soleimani revenge attack - UPDATE: 2 Yanks, 1 Brit killed
Comment: RT provides more details on the events that mark the latest escalation in the region: See also: 15 rockets hit Iraqi base housing US troops in latest Soleimani revenge attack - UPDATE: 2 Yanks, 1 Brit killed