BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s military condemned on Tuesday “reckless” actions against bases on its soil and said it had captured a truck with a rocket launcher a day after at least five U.S. personnel were wounded in an attack amid an escalation of Middle East conflict.
The region is on edge over the Gaza war and possible reprisals by Iran and its allies after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
“We reject all reckless actions and practices targeting Iraqi bases, diplomatic missions, and the whereabouts of the international coalition’s advisers, and everything that would raise tension in the region,” the Iraqi military statement said.
The military did not confirm U.S. personnel were injured, as U.S. officials told Reuters, but did say two rockets were fired on Monday at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq from the nearby town of Haditha.
A small truck was seized with a rocket launcher fixed on the back. Eight unfired rockets were dismantled, the statement said.
“The formations in our security forces, through intelligence and security work, have obtained important information about the perpetrators of this attack against Ain al-Asad, and they are currently being pursued to bring them to justice,” the statement added, without giving more details.
A rare ally of both the U.S. and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Alex Richardson and Andrew Cawthorne)
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