'Outraged,' Says Pompeo After Fresh Rocket Attacks On Iraqi Airbase Housing US Troops

Four rockets hit Iraq airbase hosting US troops, military sources said on Sunday, killing four Iraqi personnel including two military officials.

Image: Getty Images

New Delhi: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that he was “outraged” over the reports of another rocket attack on the US military base stationed in the north of Baghdad, days after Iran’s attack on two of US bases. Four rockets hit Iraq airbase hosting US troops, military sources said on Sunday, killing four Iraqi personnel including two military officials. "Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured and call on the Government of #Iraq to hold those responsible for this attack on the Iraqi people accountable," Pompeo said in a Twitter. "These continued violations of Iraq's sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end," he added.

Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured and call on the Government of #Iraq to hold those responsible for this attack on the Iraqi people accountable.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 12, 2020

Rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad on Sunday where American troops have been stationed, wounding at least four Iraqi troops. No immediate information about casualties was reported, according to Al Jazeera. At least four rockets hit the Al Balad base, which hosts American trainers, advisers and a company that provides maintenance services for F-16 aircraft. Some projectiles fell on a restaurant inside the airbase, officials were quoted as saying. The attack came just days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that housed US forces and caused no casualties. So far, there has no claim of responsibility for the attack, which comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran over the last two weeks. Last week on Wednesday Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched a missile attack on the US airbase of Ain al-Asad and Erbil in Iraq in retaliation against the death of Major General Qasem Soleimani in an American drone attack on January 3. The limited Iranian strikes appeared to be mainly a show of force and de-escalated tensions that had threatened to turn Iraq into a proxy battlefield. (ANI)