US forces attacked at Iraq airbase, responded in self-defense: US military official

US forces came under attack at the Ain al-Asad airbase west of Baghdad early on Tuesday and US forces responded in self-defense, two US military officials said, in the first reported US response in Iraq to dozens of recent attacks.

The attack against Ain al-Asad caused minor injuries and damage to infrastructure, one official said, with another saying US forces used an AC-130 gunship to respond.

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A US warplane killed multiple Iranian-backed militiamen in Iraq after they fired a short-range ballistic missile at American and allied personnel in the country, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

“Immediately following the attack, a US military AC-130 aircraft in the area conducted a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia personnel involved in this attack. This self-defense strike resulted in several enemy KIA (killed in action),” Ryder said.

The US had previously responded to attacks against its forces in Iraq and neighboring Syria, claimed by Iraqi militia groups, with three separate sets of strikes on targets in Syria.

The armed drone and missile attacks began on Oct. 17 and have been linked by Iraqi militia groups to US support for Israel in its devastating war on Gaza, which began after Hamas militants went on the rampage in Israel on Oct. 7.

Earlier on Tuesday, social media accounts linked to Iran-aligned Iraqi militias published a statement in the name of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” mourning a member who they said had been killed “in battle” against US forces.

His killing is the first reported casualty in Iraq linked to the Israel-Gaza war, which has drawn in other factions in Iran’s network of regional proxies, known as the Axis of Resistance, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

US and international forces that make up the global coalition to fight the remnants of ISIS have been targeted more than 60 times in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17, US officials say.

Dozens of US servicemen suffered minor injuries in the attacks but have all returned to duty, US officials say.

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