According to an Iraqi Army release, a Katyusha missile hit a military post in Iraq where US forces were deployed at Baghdad’s airport terminal on Wednesday.
There were no wounds or fatalities reported
Initial indications suggested the strike took place about 2:45 p.m., according to US Army Colonel Wayne Marotto, a spokesperson for the US-led multinational military coalition. According to Reuters, he stated the harm was being examined.
Tonight 4 #Katyusha rockets landed near “#Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center” known as “BDSC” located in Baghdad airport, hosting US diplomatic personnel & troops.
A fire broke out in the base due to the strike.
No casualties have been reported so far.#Iraq pic.twitter.com/n5BOY3icWh
— VAJRA: The Strategic Forum™ (@VajraForum) January 5, 2022
This was the third strike in three days that targeted US forces in the vicinity. A second military drone assault targeting the Baghdad area was halted by US troops in Iraq on Tuesday.
“Two explosive-laden UAVs were gunned down by Iraqi air defense systems on Tuesday, as they neared the Ain al-Asad military airport, which houses US forces west of Baghdad,” Reuters announced on Tuesday.
According to a second Reuters source, two armed drones were shot down on Monday, when they neared a military base holding US forces near Baghdad’s airport terminal.
“An official with the United States-led multinational military alliance claimed the base’s defense system targeted ‘two fixed-wing kamikaze drones.’ They were shot down with issue,” according to the report.
As per Reuters, a military official reportedly stated, “this was a devastating attack on a civilian airport.”
Iran wants revenge
The strikes were most likely linked to the two-year commemoration of the killing of Quds Force Chief Qasem Soleimani of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) by a US drone strike at the Baghdad international airport. This was authorized by then-President Trump.
According to The Daily Wire, in 2020, US military troops murdered two top Iranian military leaders linked to terrorism in Iraq during an attack. Commentators said this was a much larger deal than the killing of al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden, as well as ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The two Iranian military commanders killed were Major-General Qasem Soleimani, the chief of the Quds Force and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Al-Muhandis was in command of the Popular Mobilization Units, which had ties to Iran.
Footage from Ain Al-Assad Airbase, #Iraq from the CRAM engagement of the two suspected Samad drones downed during the early hours of this morning. pic.twitter.com/8xGo7BYVO3
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) January 4, 2022
“My sources claim Abu Mahdi AlMuhandes was in the truck hit by the US strike near Baghdad airfield Iraq,” BBC correspondent Ali Hashem reported.
On the day Iran’s Premier Ebrahim Raisi spoke about Soleimani’s demise, the first UAV attack took place on Monday. Raisi argued Trump should be held accountable for the general’s murder.
“Muslim people will take our martyr’s retribution if Trump and (former Secretary of State Mike) Pompeo are not convicted in a fair tribunal for the heinous crime of killing General Soleimani,” Raisi said in the address, according to Reuters.
“The aggressor, killer, and principal perpetrator – the then-US president – must be prosecuted and punished by the (Islamic) law of vengeance. God’s ruling must be performed against him,” he continued.
