One Dead in Rocket Attack on Iraq Base Hosting US Troops

US military vehicles at the Ain Al-Assad air base in the Anbar province, Iraq. (Reuters file photo)
US military vehicles at the Ain Al-Assad air base in the Anbar province, Iraq. (Reuters file photo)
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One Dead in Rocket Attack on Iraq Base Hosting US Troops

US military vehicles at the Ain Al-Assad air base in the Anbar province, Iraq. (Reuters file photo)
US military vehicles at the Ain Al-Assad air base in the Anbar province, Iraq. (Reuters file photo)

Ten rockets landed on Wednesday at Iraq’s Ain al-Assad air base, which hosts US, coalition and Iraqi forces, the Iraqi military said.

There were no reports of injuries among US service personnel but an American civilian contractor died after suffering a “cardiac episode” while sheltering from the rockets, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

“We cannot attribute responsibility at this time, and we do not have a complete picture of the extent of the damage,” Kirby added. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The United States is assessing the impact of the attack and whoever was responsible, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

“If we assess that further response is warranted, we will take action again in a manner and time of our choosing,” she told a news briefing. “What we won’t do is make a hasty or ill-informed decision that further escalates the decision or plays into the hands of our adversaries.”

Last Thursday, US forces carried out air strikes against facilities at a border control point in Syria used by Iranian-backed militias including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

A Baghdad Operations Command official said Wednesday’s attack was launched from a location about eight km (five miles) from the base, which is in the westerly Anbar province.

Another Iraqi security source and a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the rockets had been launched from a point west of the nearby town of Baghdadi.

Despite a deterioration in security in some parts of the country, Pope Francis is due to begin a four-day visit to Iraq on Friday.

On Feb. 16, a rocket attack on US-led forces in northern Iraq killed a civilian contractor and injured a US service member.



Palestinians Must Not Be Expelled from Gaza, Berlin Says After Trump Comments 

Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al-Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. (EPA)
Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al-Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. (EPA)
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Palestinians Must Not Be Expelled from Gaza, Berlin Says After Trump Comments 

Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al-Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. (EPA)
Internally displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along Al-Rashid road, central Gaza Strip, 27 January 2025. (EPA)

The Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza, the German foreign ministry said on Monday after US President Donald Trump said Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians.

Asked for a reaction to Trump's comments, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Berlin shared the view of "the European Union, our Arab partners, the United Nations ... that the Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or recolonized by Israel."

Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt. Both countries and other Arab nations reject the idea of Palestinians in Gaza being moved to their countries. Gaza is land that Palestinians would want as part of a future Palestinian state.