Rocket lands near Baghdad base hosting US troops, as Iraqi PM heads to Washington

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – At least one Katyusha rocket landed in the vicinity of the Baghdad International Airport late Tuesday, the Iraqi military said. The missiles, launched from southeast of the sprawling facility that hosts US troops, did not lead to any casualties or damages, according to early reports.

The incident marks yet another one in a spate of attacks that have targeted US interests and facilities hosting American forces and diplomats in Iraq, amid high tensions between Iran and the US, which maintains troops advising Iraqi forces in the fight against the so-called Islamic State.

Related Article: Rockets land on Iraqi base hosting US forces, amid uptick in attacks

Washington has often blamed pro-Iran groups, such as Kata’ib Hizbollah, for such attacks. The group is among members of the umbrella Hashd al-Shaabi—also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)—that have strong backing from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In a Tuesday report titled “As Iraq PM heads to the US, pro-Iran groups step up attacks,” the AFP said that between Aug. 4 and Aug. 16, “13 bomb and rocket attacks targeted Iraqi logistics convoys for the US military, bases housing US soldiers and the US embassy.”

Notably, the AFP report cited an intelligence source as saying that after an attack on an Iraqi convoy supplying US forces, a man was arrested in possession of explosives and a PMF identification card, which allowed him to “cross checkpoints without a search.”

“While the impact has been limited, the attacks have served as a show of strength,” it added.

The attacks come as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi arrived in the US on Tuesday to meet President Donald Trump as part of the two countries’ “strategic dialogue.” Kadhimi, who is seen as pro-US, has taken executive actions that have negatively impacted the PMF, such as imposing control on border crossings.

Related Article: Iraqi Prime Minister to visit Washington

In a separate incident that also occurred late Tuesday, three more small missiles struck near the US’ Conoco base in Syria, also resulting in “no Coalition casualties or damage,” Coalition Spokesperson Col. Myles B. Caggins III confirmed to Kurdistan 24.

According to Kurdistan 24 sources, the rockets were fired from the Syrian regime-controlled territory, where Iranian and Tehran-aligned forces have a substantial presence.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany