Rockets hit Iraq base hosting US troops

SAMARRA, Iraq — A volley of rockets slam into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops, the Iraqi military says.

Its statement says eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad airbase, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen.

Al-Balad is the main airbase for Iraq’s F-16s, which it bought from the US to upgrade its air capacities.

The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated following tensions between the US and Iran over the past two weeks, military sources tell AFP.

“About 90 percent of the US advisers, and employees of Sallyport and Lockheed Martin who are specialized in aircraft maintenance, have withdrawn to Taji and Erbil after threats,” one of the sources says.

“There are no more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at al-Balad,” the source adds.

Military bases hosting US troops have been subject to volleys of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months that have mostly wounded Iraqi forces, but also killed one American contractor last month.

— AFP