At least seven mortar bombs descended upon the Balad air base in Iraq, wounding at least four Iraqi soldiers, according to multiple news sources.
Sunday’s attack wounded an Iraqi air force officer and three enlisted men, Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
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A statement from the Iraqi army’s official media office confirmed the attack but said eight rockets hit the base, and that two officers had been wounded. The difference in accounts could not immediately be reconciled.
“There are American experts, trainers and advisers at the base,” said one defense official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
Balad Air Base which hosts coalition forces was bombed with 8 Katyusha rockets caused the injury of four members of Iraqi Air Force including two officers. Statement from Iraqi joint operations command.
— Mustafa Salim (@Mustafa_salimb) January 12, 2020
Balad air base officials say there were no Iraqi soldiers affected who were fighting for the U.S.-led military coalition combating ISIS.
Balad airbase: "No Coalition personnel were impacted" by attack according to the US-led military coalition fighting ISIS, @CJTFOIR https://t.co/Cb8cqyRD9Q via @rabrowne75 #Iraq pic.twitter.com/s2PqtyX9Up
— Liveuamap MiddleEast (@lummideast) January 12, 2020
The military sources said the mortar bombs fell in the base’s runway inside the base, which is located 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad.
A majority of US airmen stationed at the Balad airbase have returned home, AFP news agency quoting military sources said on Sunday.
Some shells hit the runway of the Balad airbase while another shell struck the gate, Colonel Mohammed Khalil, a police officer in the northern Iraqi province of Saladin, told the Al Jazeera news station.
"Three Iraqi soldiers, who were on guard at the airbase gate, were injured as a result of the shelling," he said.
By Sunday afternoon, no country had claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes amid tensions between the United States and Iran over the last week-and-half.
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The U.S. and Iran recently stepped back from escalating tensions following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top general, in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. A senior Iraqi leader of an Iran-backed militia was also killed.
Iran’s retaliatory attack for Soleimani’s death hit two Iraqi bases, Ain al-Asad and Irbil, where American troops are based.
The limited Iranian strikes appeared to be mainly a show of force, and deescalated tensions that had threatened to turn Iraq into a proxy battlefield.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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