SEVERAL ROCKETS HIT IRAQ’S TAJI BASE HOUSING INTERNATIONAL COALITION TROOPS

A barrage of rockets hit a base housing US and other coalition troops north of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials said on Saturday, just days after a similar attack killed three servicemen, including two Americans.

The officials said over a dozen rockets landed inside Camp Taji, some striking the coalition headquarters while other fell on a runway used by Iraqi forces.

Camp Taji was also the site of Wednesday’s attack, the deadliest to target US troops in Iraq since a later December rocket attack on an Iraqi base. 

In retaliation for Wednesday’s rocket fire, the US launched a series of airstrikes on militia bases across Iraq’s south, killing five Iraqi security forces and a civilian.

There was no immediate word on casualties on Saturday at Camp Taji, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. US security officials also confirmed the strikes to AFP but made no mention of casualties.

The December attack killed a US contractor and sparked a deadly series of tit-for-tat strikes with Washington killing a top Iranian commander and Tehran injuring dozens of US troops in a reliatory rocket barrage. 

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have repeatedly pledged to avenge the deaths of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January.

The escalation sparked fears of war for some, particularly for critics of the Trump administration, leading Congress to look into curtailing the president’s powers to declare war on Iran.

The measure was approved by 227-186 in the Democrat-led House of Representatives on Wednesday.