BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have arrested five suspects over a recent attack on a military base hosting US troops that wounded seven Americans, officials said Thursday.
The rocket attack Monday was the latest in a series targeting Ain Assad base in recent weeks, which hosts American troops as well as other personnel from the US-led coalition against Daesh.
The Iraqi government’s security media unit said in a statement that after “in-depth investigation and witness statements... five people involved in the illegal act were arrested.”
The statement did not provide further details on the suspects or whether they were affiliated with any groups.
According to a US defense official “five US service members and two US contractors were injured in the attack,” in which two rockets struck the base.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blamed the attack on “an Iranian-backed Shiite militia group,” but said investigations were ongoing to determine which group.
Such attacks were frequent early in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but had largely halted until recently.
There have also been two other recent attacks targeting Ain Assad base — on July 16 and 25.
Monday’s rocket attack came at a time of already heightened tensions in the Middle East, with the region awaiting an expected counterattack by Iran on Israel following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
The rocket attack came after US forces carried out a strike in Iraq last week that a US official said targeted combatants who were attempting to launch drones deemed a threat to American and allied troops.
The strike, which Iraqi sources said left four dead, was the first by American forces in Iraq since February.
Attacks against US troops were much more common in the first few months of the Gaza war, when they were targeted more than 175 times.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of pro-Iran groups, claimed the majority of those attacks, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians.
Iraq says five arrested over attack on US troops
https://arab.news/8a7wx
Iraq says five arrested over attack on US troops
- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blamed the attack on “an Iranian-backed Shiite militia group,” but said investigations were ongoing to determine which group
Israeli forces open fire on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, no injuries reported
- Lebanese military said in a statement that Israeli violations of its sovereignty caused instability within the country and hindered its own forces from deploying in the south
JERUSALEM: Israeli military forces opened fire on United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Sunday, in an incident the UN peacekeeping mission described as a serious violation.
None of the UN forces were reported wounded.
Israeli soldiers had opened fire on two suspects in the El Hamames area near the Israeli border, only later realizing that they were UN peacekeepers, the military said in a statement.
The military said the peacekeepers were misidentified due to poor weather conditions. The incident was under review, it said.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said the Israeli forces had fired from a Merkava tank positioned inside Lebanese territory toward the peacekeepers, who were on foot. Heavy machine gun fire landed five meters from the peacekeepers, who were forced to seek shelter, it said.
The Israeli tank withdrew after peacekeepers contacted the Israeli military through official channels, UNIFIL said.
UNIFIL called the incident a “serious violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which, among other provisions, states that no armed forces should be operating in southern Lebanon except the UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese military.
The Lebanese military said in a statement that Israeli violations of its sovereignty caused instability within the country and hindered its own forces from deploying in the south.
The Israeli military occupies five posts within Lebanon and frequently carries out airstrikes in the country’s south that it says are targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last year that required the Lebanese militant group not to have any weapons in the south and for Israeli forces to fully withdraw from Lebanon.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of trying to rearm, while Lebanon’s government accuses Israel of violating the agreement by not withdrawing and continuing to carry out airstrikes.
