Missile strike in Iraq hits base with 200 British personnel

A US army base in Iraq which was targeted in a missile strike last night is also where 200 British personnel are based.

No group has as of yet claimed responsibility for the Katyusha rocket attack on Camp Taji, north of Baghdad.

Unlike the ballistic missiles which Iran fired at two US bases in Iraq last week, the Soviet-made Katyusha rockets have a shorter range and were described as a ‘smaller attack’, according to a coalition military spokesman. No casualties have been reported.

Colonel Myles Caggins III tweeted: ‘No Coalition troops were affected by this small attack at Taji Base.’ It comes after a similar attack on a US base on Sunday night, in which four members of the Iraqi military were wounded in the eight-missile strike on Balad airbase, which is 50 miles north of Baghdad.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the rocket attack. He tweeted:’Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase ‘I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and call on the government of Iraq to hold those responsible for these attacks accountable. ‘These continued violations of Iraq’s sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end’.

The attacks come amid rising tensions in the region after President Trump ordered a drone strike which killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on January 3.

In response, Iran fired a number of ballistic missiles at two US army bases in Iraq, in which no US casualties were reported.