Iraq military says no Iraqi casualties as 22 missiles hit bases
FILE – In this Sept. 22, 2018, file photo, Iran’s missiles are displayed by the Revolutionary Guard during a military parade marking the 38th anniversary of Iraq’s 1980 invasion of Iran, in front of the shrine of the late revolutionary founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, outside Tehran, Iran. The U.S. airstrike that killed a prominent Iranian general in Baghdad raises tensions even higher between Tehran and Washington after months of trading attacks and threats across the wider Middle East. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A total of 22 missiles struck two bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq but there were no Iraqi casualties, the military in Baghdad said Wednesday after the overnight attack.
The statement made no mention of Iran, which claimed that it had fired ballistic missiles at the Ain al-Asad airbase in retaliation for the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general.
“Between 1:45 am and 2:15 am (2245 GMT and 2315 GMT) Iraq was hit by 22 missiles, 17 on the Ain al-Asad airbase and … five on the city of Arbil,” the Iraqi military said.
In this Nov. 8, 2017, file photo, U.S. Marines are stationed in Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq. Iran struck back at the United States for the killing of a top Iranian general early Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, firing a series of ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops in a major escalation that brought the two longtime foes closer to war. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)
“There were no victims among the Iraqi forces,” it added but did not mention whether or not there were casualties among foreign troops.
Ain al-Asad is the largest airbase where U.S.-led coalition troops are based.
Arbil is the capital of the Kurdish region, and a top official from the regional government said no American military base or U.S. consulate was hit there.
The official also said there were no casualties in Arbil.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday took to Twitter following the strike to say an “assessment of casualties & damages taking place now”.
“So far, so good!” he wrote.
It was the first time Iran directly targeted a U.S. installation with ballistic missiles.
Over the last two months, U.S. troops and even the embassy in Baghdad had been targeted in more than a dozen rocket attacks that Washington blamed on pro-Tehran groups, but none had been claimed.
