Rocket attack strikes US military base in Iraq

The attack targeted the K1 Iraqi military air base in Kirkuk province. No casualties reported but damage occurred to the buildings in the base.

The same base was targeted by a rocket attack on 27 December 2019. The air base was one of many Iraqi military bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) personnel and was attacked by more than 30 rockets. The attack occurred during the 2019-20 Persian Gulf crisis and preceded a series of events that eventually brought Iran and the United States to the brink of open conflict.

The airbase attack led to a rapid series of events within the following week, starting with U.S. attacks in Iraq and Syria, which targeted five Kata'ib Hezbollah weapon storage facilities and command and control locations in Iraq and Syria. 25 people died and 55 were wounded.

It was followed by demonstrations against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which in turn led to a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad International Airport, assassinating Iranian general Qaseem Soleimani and PMU commander Abul Mahdi ak-Muhandis. (ILKHA)