US troops injured in attack in Iraq as tensions in region increase

Several U.S. personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack Monday against Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, which houses American and coalition troops, a U.S. defense official said.

The attack comes as Israel and the U.S. are shifting forces in the region while awaiting an expected Iranian attack on Israel, which U.S. officials have said could also target American bases and assets in the region.

“We can confirm that there was a suspected rocket attack today against U.S. and Coalition forces at Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq,” the official said. “Initial indications are that several U.S. personnel were injured.” An assessment of the damage was being conducted.

Al-Asad has come under attack multiple times from Iranian-backed militias over the past year. From October to January, American and coalition troops endured more than 150 attacks, culminating in a January strike on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that killed three U.S. troops.

In response, the U.S. launched a large counterstrike that hit 85 targets across Iraq and Syria.

The region has been on edge the past week in the wake of the assassinations of top Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran, respectively. Israel has claimed credit for the former but has not commented publicly on the latter.

To prepare for an expected Iranian response to the assassinations, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently operating in the Pacific, and its destroyer escorts to the region, along with an additional squadron of fighter planes. The Lincoln will replace the Roosevelt carrier strike group already in the region.

A new American air wing and more air defenses have also been sent to the region.

Those assets will fall in on a monthslong mission in the Red Sea, where several U.S. destroyers have been on station since December shooting down drones and missiles launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen.

The concern is that Iranian proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militant groups in Iraq and Syria could hit Israel and U.S. forces from multiple directions simultaneously, stretching defensive systems and potentially plunging the region into a wider conflict.