Wed 08 January 2019:
Iran struck back at the United States on Wednesday over the death of General Qassam Soleimani in a drone strike with missile attacks at two bases in Iraq which host American soldiers.
Iranian state TV reported that at least 80 US soldiers were killed in the attacks on bases near Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, and in the Ain Assad airbase in Iraq’s Anbar province. But the Pentagon claimed there were no American casualties.
France, Germany, Poland, Denmark and Finland all announced that none of their nationals were killed.
Ain Assad was first used by American forces after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and later during the fight against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria.
Germany and the UK condemned the missile strike on Wednesday. German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the government “rejects this aggression in the sharpest possible terms”. China also warned against a military escalation in the Middle East.
Speaking on Wednesday, Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khameini described the attack on bases in Iraq as a “slap in the face” that were “not sufficient” retaliation for the death of General Soleimani.
But while the attack will serve to increase tensions in the region following the death of Soleimani, experts told Euronews that it was unlikely to lead to all-out war between Iran and the U.S.
“By striking so quickly and overtly, while also sending the message that Iran “does not want war,” I think Tehran wants to swiftly close the door to any further escalation, rather than letting tensions linger for months,” said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at LeBeck International in Bahrain.
“The ball is in Trump’s court. Going by his response to the attack (stating that “all is well”), and given that there were no US casualties, I think there is a higher chance that the US will not respond in an escalatory manner – but Trump has also proven to extremely unpredictable.”
And defence analyst Paul Beaver told Good Morning Europe that last night’s events might lead to the “opening stages of a non-military response” rather than an escalation of war from both sides.
The Iranians fired a total of 15 missiles, two U.S. officials said. Ten hit Ain al-Asad and one the base in Irbil. Four failed, said the officials, who were not authorised to speak publicly about a military operation.
Two Iraqi security officials said at least one of the missiles appeared to have struck a plane at the Ain al-Asad base, igniting a fire. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the attacks, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they had no permission to brief journalists.
About 70 Norwegian troops also were on the airbase but no injuries were reported, Brynjar Stordal, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces told The Associated Press.
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