CNN
"US embassy attack: Rocket strikes compound in Baghdad"
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
26 JANUARY 2020
One rocket hit a dining facility Sunday on the compound of the US Embassy in Baghdad, a US official told CNN.
The official said at this early stage there are reports of minor damage.
Neither the Pentagon nor the State Department have made public any reports of injuries and have not returned requests from CNN for comment on the incident.
Adil Abdul Mahdi, the prime minister of Iraq, condemned the attack and said Iraqi forces have been ordered to "deploy, search, and investigate to prevent the recurrence of such attacks, and to arrest those who launched these rockets so that they can be punished."
The Prime Minister said the Iraqi government is "committed to protecting all diplomatic missions and taking all necessary measures to achieve this."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/roc ... id=HPDHP17
IRAQ
Re: IRAQ
MARKETWATCH
"Opinion: The real cost of the Iraq war: $2 trillion and counting"
By Neta C. Crawford
Published: Feb 4, 2020 3:11 p.m. ET
Even if the U.S. administration decided to leave — or was evicted from — Iraq immediately, the bill of war to the U.S. to date would be an estimated $1.922 trillion in current dollars.
This figure includes not only funding appropriated to the Pentagon explicitly for the war, but spending on Iraq by the State Department, the care of Iraq War veterans and interest on debt incurred to fund 16 years of U.S. military involvement in the country.
Since 2003, the Department of Defense has received about $838 billion in “emergency” and “overseas contingency operation” funding for operations in Iraq through fiscal year 2019.
This includes, from 2014 on, money dedicated to the fight against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or IS, in a region including both Iraq and Syria.
The Pentagon “base” budget — money needed to keep the department running on an ongoing basis — has also ballooned while the U.S. has been at war.
War-related increases to the base budget include heightened security at bases, enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, increased military pay, and the health-care costs of soldiers.
I estimate nearly $800 billion in such increases since 9/11, with Iraq’s share about $382 billion.
Add to this approximately $59 billion spent by the State Department and USAID on Iraq and Syria for democracy promotion, reconstruction, training and removing unexploded bombs.
Meanwhile, about 4.1 million post-9/11 war veterans are receiving medical care and disability and other compensation.
Roughly half the spending for those veterans is Iraq related, with the total nearing $199 billion.
And since there have been no Iraq War taxes and very few war bonds issued to finance the post-9/11 wars, we should add another $444 billion in interest on borrowing to pay for Pentagon and State Department spending.
Department of Defense spending on Iraq has tailed off in the past decade after peaking at around $140 billion in 2008.
In December 2019, Congress appropriated about $70 billion for the post-9/11 wars as part of the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act.
The Pentagon originally requested less than $10 billion of that amount for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
But that budget may already be blown.
Earlier this month, the U.S. sent more troops into a war zone that was supposed to be winding down.
Neta C. Crawford is a political science professor and the chair of the department at Boston University. This was first published by The Conversation — “The Iraq War has cost the US nearly $2 trillion.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-r ... latestnews
"Opinion: The real cost of the Iraq war: $2 trillion and counting"
By Neta C. Crawford
Published: Feb 4, 2020 3:11 p.m. ET
Even if the U.S. administration decided to leave — or was evicted from — Iraq immediately, the bill of war to the U.S. to date would be an estimated $1.922 trillion in current dollars.
This figure includes not only funding appropriated to the Pentagon explicitly for the war, but spending on Iraq by the State Department, the care of Iraq War veterans and interest on debt incurred to fund 16 years of U.S. military involvement in the country.
Since 2003, the Department of Defense has received about $838 billion in “emergency” and “overseas contingency operation” funding for operations in Iraq through fiscal year 2019.
This includes, from 2014 on, money dedicated to the fight against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or IS, in a region including both Iraq and Syria.
The Pentagon “base” budget — money needed to keep the department running on an ongoing basis — has also ballooned while the U.S. has been at war.
War-related increases to the base budget include heightened security at bases, enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, increased military pay, and the health-care costs of soldiers.
I estimate nearly $800 billion in such increases since 9/11, with Iraq’s share about $382 billion.
Add to this approximately $59 billion spent by the State Department and USAID on Iraq and Syria for democracy promotion, reconstruction, training and removing unexploded bombs.
Meanwhile, about 4.1 million post-9/11 war veterans are receiving medical care and disability and other compensation.
Roughly half the spending for those veterans is Iraq related, with the total nearing $199 billion.
And since there have been no Iraq War taxes and very few war bonds issued to finance the post-9/11 wars, we should add another $444 billion in interest on borrowing to pay for Pentagon and State Department spending.
Department of Defense spending on Iraq has tailed off in the past decade after peaking at around $140 billion in 2008.
In December 2019, Congress appropriated about $70 billion for the post-9/11 wars as part of the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act.
The Pentagon originally requested less than $10 billion of that amount for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria.
But that budget may already be blown.
Earlier this month, the U.S. sent more troops into a war zone that was supposed to be winding down.
Neta C. Crawford is a political science professor and the chair of the department at Boston University. This was first published by The Conversation — “The Iraq War has cost the US nearly $2 trillion.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-r ... latestnews
Re: IRAQ
MARKETWATCH
"Iraq says it’s discussing deeper military ties with Russia"
By Associated Press
Published: Feb 10, 2020 3:59 p.m. ET
The Iraqi government has told its military not to seek assistance from U.S.-led coalition forces in operations against the extremist group Islamic State, two senior Iraqi military officials said, as a crisis of mistrust mars U.S.-Iraq relations after the January strike that killed an Iraqi militia chief alongside the Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq and Russia discussed prospects for deepening military coordination, Iraq’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, amid a strain in Baghdad-Washington relations after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general inside Iraq.
The ministry statement followed a meeting in Baghdad between the Iraqi army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Othman Al-Ghanimi, and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, as well as a newly arrived defense attache.
The meeting comes during an uncertain moment in the future of Iraq-U.S. military relations, following the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi senior militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near the Baghdad airport.
The attack prompted powerful Shiite parties to call for an overhaul of the existing strategic set-up between Iraq and the U.S.-led coalition.
Al-Ghanimi praised Moscow’s role in the battle against the Islamic State group, saying it had provided “our armed forces with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles,” according to the ministry statement.
The statement said the sides discussed prospects for “cooperation and coordination.”
Both parties emphasized the importance of exchanging information and coordination to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State.
Maksimov extended an invitation to al-Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart “within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two sides,” the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
A senior Iraqi military intelligence official told the Associated Press that Russia, among other countries, has come forward to offer military support in the wake of fraught U.S.-Iraq relations following Soleimani’s killing.
“Iraq still needs aerial reconnaissance planes."
"There are countries that have given signals to Iraq to support us or equip us with reconnaissance planes such as Russia and Iran,” said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
In response to the drone strike that killed Soleimani, Iraq’s parliament passed a nonbinding resolution urging a U.S. troop withdrawal, and then caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi openly called for a troop withdrawal.
Since then, Iraqi leaders have scaled back the rhetoric.
Behind closed doors, the bitterness has poisoned the partnership.
Senior Iraqi military officials told AP this week that Iraq told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in joint operations targeting the Islamic State group and to minimize cooperation.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, acknowledged recently that relations with Iraq were “in a period of turbulence.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/iraq- ... latestnews
"Iraq says it’s discussing deeper military ties with Russia"
By Associated Press
Published: Feb 10, 2020 3:59 p.m. ET
The Iraqi government has told its military not to seek assistance from U.S.-led coalition forces in operations against the extremist group Islamic State, two senior Iraqi military officials said, as a crisis of mistrust mars U.S.-Iraq relations after the January strike that killed an Iraqi militia chief alongside the Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq and Russia discussed prospects for deepening military coordination, Iraq’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, amid a strain in Baghdad-Washington relations after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general inside Iraq.
The ministry statement followed a meeting in Baghdad between the Iraqi army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Othman Al-Ghanimi, and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, as well as a newly arrived defense attache.
The meeting comes during an uncertain moment in the future of Iraq-U.S. military relations, following the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi senior militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near the Baghdad airport.
The attack prompted powerful Shiite parties to call for an overhaul of the existing strategic set-up between Iraq and the U.S.-led coalition.
Al-Ghanimi praised Moscow’s role in the battle against the Islamic State group, saying it had provided “our armed forces with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles,” according to the ministry statement.
The statement said the sides discussed prospects for “cooperation and coordination.”
Both parties emphasized the importance of exchanging information and coordination to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State.
Maksimov extended an invitation to al-Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart “within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two sides,” the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
A senior Iraqi military intelligence official told the Associated Press that Russia, among other countries, has come forward to offer military support in the wake of fraught U.S.-Iraq relations following Soleimani’s killing.
“Iraq still needs aerial reconnaissance planes."
"There are countries that have given signals to Iraq to support us or equip us with reconnaissance planes such as Russia and Iran,” said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
In response to the drone strike that killed Soleimani, Iraq’s parliament passed a nonbinding resolution urging a U.S. troop withdrawal, and then caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi openly called for a troop withdrawal.
Since then, Iraqi leaders have scaled back the rhetoric.
Behind closed doors, the bitterness has poisoned the partnership.
Senior Iraqi military officials told AP this week that Iraq told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in joint operations targeting the Islamic State group and to minimize cooperation.
Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, acknowledged recently that relations with Iraq were “in a period of turbulence.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/iraq- ... latestnews
Re: IRAQ
REUTERS
"NATO to expand Iraq training mission in response to Trump"
By Robin Emmott
12 FEBRUARY 2020
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO defense ministers agreed on Wednesday to expand the Western alliance's training mission in Iraq, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, responding to a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO to do more in the Middle East.
NATO will take over some of the training activities carried out by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Stoltenberg said, meaning the decision does not require more Western troops in Iraq but would be with the consent of the Iraqi government.
"Today, allied ministers...agreed in principle to enhance NATO's training mission," Stoltenberg told a news conference.
"In the first instance, this will consist of taking on some of the global coalition's current training activities."
NATO and the coalition have non-combat, "train-and-advise" missions that aim to develop Iraqi security forces, but both are suspended over fears for regional stability after a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad on Jan. 3.
After the killing, Trump called on NATO - founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the Soviet Union - to do more in the Middle East, without specifying what that might entail.
Stoltenberg said the NATO Iraq mission would restart as soon as possible.
He declined to give more details.
He also said there had been no decision on how many troops would be re-assigned from the U.S.-led coalition.
NATO diplomats told Reuters the coalition troops could likely move across and work under a NATO flag from the middle of 2020 now that the political decision has been taken.
NATO ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, will also discuss more options for the alliance in the Middle East in a bid to mollify Trump, a sharp critic who has accused some allies of being "delinquent" because they do not spend enough on defense.
"Ministers also agreed to explore what more we can do beyond this first step," Stoltenberg said.
However, many allies say they refuse to join the U.S. maximum pressure campaign against Iran, for instance.
Eastern European allies, fearful of Russia since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea, are concerned about shifting too many resources to the Middle East or for NATO to be used as a way for the United States to pull out of the region, diplomats said.
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nat ... li=BBnb7Kz
"NATO to expand Iraq training mission in response to Trump"
By Robin Emmott
12 FEBRUARY 2020
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO defense ministers agreed on Wednesday to expand the Western alliance's training mission in Iraq, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, responding to a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO to do more in the Middle East.
NATO will take over some of the training activities carried out by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Stoltenberg said, meaning the decision does not require more Western troops in Iraq but would be with the consent of the Iraqi government.
"Today, allied ministers...agreed in principle to enhance NATO's training mission," Stoltenberg told a news conference.
"In the first instance, this will consist of taking on some of the global coalition's current training activities."
NATO and the coalition have non-combat, "train-and-advise" missions that aim to develop Iraqi security forces, but both are suspended over fears for regional stability after a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad on Jan. 3.
After the killing, Trump called on NATO - founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the Soviet Union - to do more in the Middle East, without specifying what that might entail.
Stoltenberg said the NATO Iraq mission would restart as soon as possible.
He declined to give more details.
He also said there had been no decision on how many troops would be re-assigned from the U.S.-led coalition.
NATO diplomats told Reuters the coalition troops could likely move across and work under a NATO flag from the middle of 2020 now that the political decision has been taken.
NATO ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, will also discuss more options for the alliance in the Middle East in a bid to mollify Trump, a sharp critic who has accused some allies of being "delinquent" because they do not spend enough on defense.
"Ministers also agreed to explore what more we can do beyond this first step," Stoltenberg said.
However, many allies say they refuse to join the U.S. maximum pressure campaign against Iran, for instance.
Eastern European allies, fearful of Russia since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea, are concerned about shifting too many resources to the Middle East or for NATO to be used as a way for the United States to pull out of the region, diplomats said.
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nat ... li=BBnb7Kz
Re: IRAQ
NBC NEWS
"Two U.S. Marines killed during raid on ISIS cave complex in Iraq - The Marine Raiders were advising and accompanying Iraqi soldiers who were attacking an ISIS cave complex in northern Iraq, said U.S. military officials."
By Ben Kesslen and Courtney Kube
March 9, 2020, 9:09 AM EDT / Updated March 9, 2020, 3:10 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Marines were killed in Iraq during a mission to clear out an extensive mountain cave complex where ISIS fighters were hiding and living, three military officials said Monday.
The Marines, from an elite Marine Raiders unit, were accompanying and advising Iraqi security forces during a raid Sunday on the ISIS stronghold in the Qara Chockh Mountains of north central Iraq and were killed by "enemy forces," according to a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve.
Four other U.S. troops were wounded, said the military officials.
The U.S. conducted airstrikes with F-15 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and drones during and after the firefight, said the officials, but the operating and the ensuing recovery of the wounded and dead lasted all day.
The names of the two service members were not immediately released, pending notification of their families, the statement added.
A Kurdish Peshmerga general told an NBC News reporter visiting the area in November that ISIS was using the caves to hide as went through the area on their way to Iraqi cities, with the intent of re-establishing a foothold in Iraq.
Around 5,200 U.S. troops are currently in Iraq to assist Iraqi security forces as they fight ISIS, according to The Associated Press.
Joint counter-ISIS operations between Iraq and the U.S. were restarted in mid-January after they were temporarily suspended because of a drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian commander, in Iraq.
In February, two troops were killed and six were wounded while U.S. and Afghan forces were conducting a joint operation.
A person wearing an Afghan uniform opened fire on them with a machine gun in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, the military said.
Ben Kesslen is a reporter for NBC News.
Courtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Associated Press contributed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/t ... q-n1153046
"Two U.S. Marines killed during raid on ISIS cave complex in Iraq - The Marine Raiders were advising and accompanying Iraqi soldiers who were attacking an ISIS cave complex in northern Iraq, said U.S. military officials."
By Ben Kesslen and Courtney Kube
March 9, 2020, 9:09 AM EDT / Updated March 9, 2020, 3:10 PM EDT
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Marines were killed in Iraq during a mission to clear out an extensive mountain cave complex where ISIS fighters were hiding and living, three military officials said Monday.
The Marines, from an elite Marine Raiders unit, were accompanying and advising Iraqi security forces during a raid Sunday on the ISIS stronghold in the Qara Chockh Mountains of north central Iraq and were killed by "enemy forces," according to a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve.
Four other U.S. troops were wounded, said the military officials.
The U.S. conducted airstrikes with F-15 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, and drones during and after the firefight, said the officials, but the operating and the ensuing recovery of the wounded and dead lasted all day.
The names of the two service members were not immediately released, pending notification of their families, the statement added.
A Kurdish Peshmerga general told an NBC News reporter visiting the area in November that ISIS was using the caves to hide as went through the area on their way to Iraqi cities, with the intent of re-establishing a foothold in Iraq.
Around 5,200 U.S. troops are currently in Iraq to assist Iraqi security forces as they fight ISIS, according to The Associated Press.
Joint counter-ISIS operations between Iraq and the U.S. were restarted in mid-January after they were temporarily suspended because of a drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian commander, in Iraq.
In February, two troops were killed and six were wounded while U.S. and Afghan forces were conducting a joint operation.
A person wearing an Afghan uniform opened fire on them with a machine gun in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, the military said.
Ben Kesslen is a reporter for NBC News.
Courtney Kube is a correspondent covering national security and the military for the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Associated Press contributed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/t ... q-n1153046
Re: IRAQ
MARKETWATCH
"3 killed, including 2 U.S. troops, in rocket attack on Iraq base"
By Associated Press
Published: March 11, 2020 at 5:12 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — At least three people were killed, including two U.S. service members, in a rocket attack in Iraq, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
The official said 10 people were injured.
Several other U.S. officials confirmed that U.S. troops had been killed and injured, but did not provide numbers.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to give details of the attack ahead of the public announcement.
Army Col. Myles Caggins, a U.S. military spokewoman in Iraq, said on Twitter that more than 15 small rockets hit Iraq’s Camp Taji base.
He provided no details.
Camp Taji, located just north of Baghdad, has been used as a training base for a number of years.
There are as many as 6,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, training and advising Iraqi forces and conducting counterterror missions.
Officials did not say what group they believe launched the rocket attack, but Kataib Hezbollah or another Iranian-backed Shia militia group is likely.
Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for a late December rocket attack on a military base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor, prompting American military strikes in response.
That in turn led to protests at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
They were followed January 3 by a U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s most powerful military officer, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, of which Kataib Hezbollah is a member.
Kataib Hezbollah been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department since 2009.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-kil ... latestnews
"3 killed, including 2 U.S. troops, in rocket attack on Iraq base"
By Associated Press
Published: March 11, 2020 at 5:12 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — At least three people were killed, including two U.S. service members, in a rocket attack in Iraq, a U.S. official said Wednesday.
The official said 10 people were injured.
Several other U.S. officials confirmed that U.S. troops had been killed and injured, but did not provide numbers.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to give details of the attack ahead of the public announcement.
Army Col. Myles Caggins, a U.S. military spokewoman in Iraq, said on Twitter that more than 15 small rockets hit Iraq’s Camp Taji base.
He provided no details.
Camp Taji, located just north of Baghdad, has been used as a training base for a number of years.
There are as many as 6,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, training and advising Iraqi forces and conducting counterterror missions.
Officials did not say what group they believe launched the rocket attack, but Kataib Hezbollah or another Iranian-backed Shia militia group is likely.
Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for a late December rocket attack on a military base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor, prompting American military strikes in response.
That in turn led to protests at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
They were followed January 3 by a U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s most powerful military officer, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, of which Kataib Hezbollah is a member.
Kataib Hezbollah been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department since 2009.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-kil ... latestnews
Re: IRAQ
CNN
"2 Americans and 1 British citizen killed in rocket attack on base in Iraq"
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
11 MARCH 2020
Two Americans and a British national were killed in a rocket attack on the Taji military base in Iraq, a US Defense official tells CNN.
The official added that multiple people were wounded in the Katyusha rocket attack.
It was not immediately clear whether the two Americans and British national were military or civilian contractors working on the base.
Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition tweeted, "The Coalition @CJTFOIR confirms more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq's Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops, March 11 at 7:35 p.m. (Iraq Time)."
"Assessment and investigation ongoing, follow @OIRSpox & @SecMedCell for updates."
Fox News first reported the fatalities.
15 rockets were fired, according to a coalition official.
The US military said in a statement that the Iraqi military found a pick-up truck with a rocket launcher mounted in the back and three rockets still in the chambers.
Earlier this year, the Iraqi Parliament voted to end the presence of all foreign troops in Iraq.
The vote represented a rebuke of the US over its targeted airstrike on Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander who was killed in January.
Iran retaliated days later by firing a number of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/2-a ... id=HPDHP17
"2 Americans and 1 British citizen killed in rocket attack on base in Iraq"
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
11 MARCH 2020
Two Americans and a British national were killed in a rocket attack on the Taji military base in Iraq, a US Defense official tells CNN.
The official added that multiple people were wounded in the Katyusha rocket attack.
It was not immediately clear whether the two Americans and British national were military or civilian contractors working on the base.
Col. Myles Caggins, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition tweeted, "The Coalition @CJTFOIR confirms more than 15 small rockets impacted Iraq's Camp Taji base hosting Coalition troops, March 11 at 7:35 p.m. (Iraq Time)."
"Assessment and investigation ongoing, follow @OIRSpox & @SecMedCell for updates."
Fox News first reported the fatalities.
15 rockets were fired, according to a coalition official.
The US military said in a statement that the Iraqi military found a pick-up truck with a rocket launcher mounted in the back and three rockets still in the chambers.
Earlier this year, the Iraqi Parliament voted to end the presence of all foreign troops in Iraq.
The vote represented a rebuke of the US over its targeted airstrike on Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian commander who was killed in January.
Iran retaliated days later by firing a number of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/2-a ... id=HPDHP17
Re: IRAQ
ABC NEWS
"US officials say US troops killed, injured in Iraq attack - U.S. officials say three service members were killed, including two Americans, and a dozen were injured when a barrage of rockets were fired at a military base in Iraq"
By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press
March 11, 2020 5:42 PM
WASHINGTON -- Three service members were killed, including two Americans, and a dozen more were injured when a barrage of rockets were fired at a military base in Iraq, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
One of the officials said five service members were seriously wounded and evacuated from the Camp Taji base and seven others were still being evaluated.
Buildings on the base were in flames.
Several other U.S. officials confirmed that U.S. troops had been killed and injured, but did not provide numbers.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to give details of the attack ahead of a public announcement.
Army Col. Myles Caggins, a U.S. military spokewman in Iraq, said on Twitter that more than 15 small rockets hit Iraq’s Camp Taji base.
He provided no details.
Another U.S. official said that as many as 30 rockets were fired from a truck launcher, and 18 hit the base.
Officials did not say what group they believe launched the rocket attack, but Kataib Hezbollah or another Iranian-backed Shia militia group is likely.
Camp Taji, located just north of Baghdad, has been used as a training base for a number of years.
There are as many as 6,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, training and advising Iraqi forces and conducting counterterror missions.
Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for a late December rocket attack on a military base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor, prompting American military strikes in response.
That in turn led to protests at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
They were followed January 3 by a U.S. airstrike that killed Iran's most powerful military officer, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, of which Kataib Hezbollah is a member.
Kataib Hezbollah been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department since 2009.
Later on Wednesday, Syrian opposition activists and a war monitor reported an airstrike that targeted Iranian militia positions along the Iraq-Syria border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 10 airstrikes carried out by three unidentified aircraft that targeted pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal region in eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq.
The Britain-based Observatory which monitors the Syria war through a network of activists on the ground said at least 10 explosions were heard in the region but said there was no immediate word on casualties.
U.S. officials said the strike was not related to the Taji base strike at all.
But, it was not immediately clear who conducted the attack.
Syrian activist Omar Abu Layla said the unidentified airstrike targeted Iranian militia positions in the Boukamal region.
Syrian state-run media also reported an aerial attack in the Boukamal region near the Iraqi border that caused material damage.
————
Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireSto ... k-69541762
"US officials say US troops killed, injured in Iraq attack - U.S. officials say three service members were killed, including two Americans, and a dozen were injured when a barrage of rockets were fired at a military base in Iraq"
By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press
March 11, 2020 5:42 PM
WASHINGTON -- Three service members were killed, including two Americans, and a dozen more were injured when a barrage of rockets were fired at a military base in Iraq, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
One of the officials said five service members were seriously wounded and evacuated from the Camp Taji base and seven others were still being evaluated.
Buildings on the base were in flames.
Several other U.S. officials confirmed that U.S. troops had been killed and injured, but did not provide numbers.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to give details of the attack ahead of a public announcement.
Army Col. Myles Caggins, a U.S. military spokewman in Iraq, said on Twitter that more than 15 small rockets hit Iraq’s Camp Taji base.
He provided no details.
Another U.S. official said that as many as 30 rockets were fired from a truck launcher, and 18 hit the base.
Officials did not say what group they believe launched the rocket attack, but Kataib Hezbollah or another Iranian-backed Shia militia group is likely.
Camp Taji, located just north of Baghdad, has been used as a training base for a number of years.
There are as many as 6,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, training and advising Iraqi forces and conducting counterterror missions.
Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for a late December rocket attack on a military base in Kirkuk that killed a U.S. contractor, prompting American military strikes in response.
That in turn led to protests at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
They were followed January 3 by a U.S. airstrike that killed Iran's most powerful military officer, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, of which Kataib Hezbollah is a member.
Kataib Hezbollah been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the State Department since 2009.
Later on Wednesday, Syrian opposition activists and a war monitor reported an airstrike that targeted Iranian militia positions along the Iraq-Syria border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 10 airstrikes carried out by three unidentified aircraft that targeted pro-Iran militias in the Boukamal region in eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq.
The Britain-based Observatory which monitors the Syria war through a network of activists on the ground said at least 10 explosions were heard in the region but said there was no immediate word on casualties.
U.S. officials said the strike was not related to the Taji base strike at all.
But, it was not immediately clear who conducted the attack.
Syrian activist Omar Abu Layla said the unidentified airstrike targeted Iranian militia positions in the Boukamal region.
Syrian state-run media also reported an aerial attack in the Boukamal region near the Iraqi border that caused material damage.
————
Associated Press writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireSto ... k-69541762
Re: IRAQ
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Iraq officials: Rocket attack hits base housing US troops"
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB, Associated Press
14 MARCH 2020
BAGHDAD (AP) — A barrage of rockets hit a base housing U.S. and other coalition troops north of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials said Saturday, just days after a similar attack killed three servicemen, including two Americans.
At least two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the attack at Camp Taji, according to the Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The officials said over a dozen rockets landed inside the base.
Some struck the area where coalition forces are based, while others fell on a runway used by Iraqi forces.
The was no immediate comment from the coalition regarding Saturday's attack.
The attack was unusual because it occurred during the day.
Previous assaults on military bases housing U.S. troops typically occurred at night.
The previous rocket attack against Camp Taji on Wednesday also killed a British serviceman.
It prompted American airstrikes Friday against what U.S. officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group believed to be responsible.
However, Iraq's military said those airstrikes killed five security force members and a civilian, while wounding five fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization including an array of militias, including some Iran-backed groups.
Iran-backed Shiite militia groups vowed to exact revenge for Friday's U.S. strikes, signalling another cycle of tit-for-tat violence between Washington and Tehran that could play out inside Iraq.
America's killing of Iraqi security forces might also give Iran-backed militia groups more reason to stage counterattacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, analysts said.
“We can’t forget that the PMF is a recognized entity within the Iraqi security forces; they aren’t isolated from the security forces and often are co-located on the same bases or use the same facilities,” said Sajad Jiyad, a researcher and former managing director of the Bayan Center, a Baghdad-based think tank.
“Now the (Iran-backed) groups who supported the initial strike in Taji, who were the most outspoken, feel obliged, authorized, maybe even legitimized to respond, ostensibly to protect Iraqi sovereignty but really to keep the pressure up on Americans,” he added.
“There are no red lines anymore," Jiyad said.
Wednesday's attack on Camp Taji was the deadliest to target U.S. troops in Iraq since a late December rocket attack on an Iraqi base, which killed a U.S. contractor.
That attack set in motion a series of attacks that brought Iraq to the brink of war.
After the contractor was killed, America launched airstrikes targeting Kataib Hezbollah, which in turn led to protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad then killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top commander responsible for expeditionary operations across the wider Mideast.
Iran struck back with a ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, the Islamic Republic’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
The U.S. and Iran stepped stepped back from further attacks after the Soleimani incident.
A senior U.S. official said in late January, when U.S.-Iran tensions had cooled, that the killing of Americans constituted a red line that could spark more violence.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ira ... id=HPDHP17
"Iraq officials: Rocket attack hits base housing US troops"
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB, Associated Press
14 MARCH 2020
BAGHDAD (AP) — A barrage of rockets hit a base housing U.S. and other coalition troops north of Baghdad, Iraqi security officials said Saturday, just days after a similar attack killed three servicemen, including two Americans.
At least two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the attack at Camp Taji, according to the Iraqi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The officials said over a dozen rockets landed inside the base.
Some struck the area where coalition forces are based, while others fell on a runway used by Iraqi forces.
The was no immediate comment from the coalition regarding Saturday's attack.
The attack was unusual because it occurred during the day.
Previous assaults on military bases housing U.S. troops typically occurred at night.
The previous rocket attack against Camp Taji on Wednesday also killed a British serviceman.
It prompted American airstrikes Friday against what U.S. officials said were mainly weapons facilities belonging to Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group believed to be responsible.
However, Iraq's military said those airstrikes killed five security force members and a civilian, while wounding five fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization including an array of militias, including some Iran-backed groups.
Iran-backed Shiite militia groups vowed to exact revenge for Friday's U.S. strikes, signalling another cycle of tit-for-tat violence between Washington and Tehran that could play out inside Iraq.
America's killing of Iraqi security forces might also give Iran-backed militia groups more reason to stage counterattacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, analysts said.
“We can’t forget that the PMF is a recognized entity within the Iraqi security forces; they aren’t isolated from the security forces and often are co-located on the same bases or use the same facilities,” said Sajad Jiyad, a researcher and former managing director of the Bayan Center, a Baghdad-based think tank.
“Now the (Iran-backed) groups who supported the initial strike in Taji, who were the most outspoken, feel obliged, authorized, maybe even legitimized to respond, ostensibly to protect Iraqi sovereignty but really to keep the pressure up on Americans,” he added.
“There are no red lines anymore," Jiyad said.
Wednesday's attack on Camp Taji was the deadliest to target U.S. troops in Iraq since a late December rocket attack on an Iraqi base, which killed a U.S. contractor.
That attack set in motion a series of attacks that brought Iraq to the brink of war.
After the contractor was killed, America launched airstrikes targeting Kataib Hezbollah, which in turn led to protests at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
A U.S. drone strike in Baghdad then killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top commander responsible for expeditionary operations across the wider Mideast.
Iran struck back with a ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces in Iraq, the Islamic Republic’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
The U.S. and Iran stepped stepped back from further attacks after the Soleimani incident.
A senior U.S. official said in late January, when U.S.-Iran tensions had cooled, that the killing of Americans constituted a red line that could spark more violence.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ira ... id=HPDHP17
Re: IRAQ
NEWSWEEK
"U.S. Military 'Under Multiple Rocket Attack' in Syria after Strikes, Fires Back"
Tom O'Connor
29 JUNE 2021
U.S. forces in Syria came under attack by multiple launch rocket systems in the wake of a series of airstrikes targeting suspected Iran-backed militias along the country's border with Syria, prompting troops to return fire.
"At approx. 7:44 PM local time, U.S. Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets," U.S.-led coalition spokesperson Army Colonel Wayne Marotto said in an initial statement Monday.
"There are no injuries and damage is being assessed."
"We will provide updates when we have more information."
In a follow-up message, he said the U.S. military had retaliated.
"Update: U.S. Forces in Syria, while under multiple rocket attack, acted in self- defense and conducted counter-battery artillery fire at rocket launching positions," Marotto said.
The exchange comes a day after the Pentagon conducted what Press Secretary John Kirby called "defensive precision air strikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region."
"The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq," Kirby said.
"Specifically, the U.S. strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries."
He identified two of the groups targeted as Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, two Iraqi factions operation as part of the pro-Iran "Axis of Resistance."
Kirby said the strikes demonstrated how Biden "has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel."
"Given the ongoing series of attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting U.S. interests in Iraq, the President directed further military action to disrupt and deter such attacks," Kirby said.
"We are in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq for the sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS."
"The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation — but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message."
He argued that the U.S. was justified in taking action under international law "pursuant to its right of self-defense," and, on the domestic level, cited the White House's Article II authority granted in the wake of 9/11 to pursue designated terrorist organizations.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the recent airstrikes, which appeared to target the eastern areas of Al-Hury, Qasabat and As Sakik.
"The Syrian Arab Republic condemns the blatant U.S. aggression on the Syrian-Iraqi border region and considers it a flagrant violation of the sanctity of Syrian and Iraqi lands," the ministry said in a statement Monday.
"Syria renews its call to the U.S. administration to respect the unity of the land and people of Syria and Iraq and to stop these attacks on the independence of the two countries immediately."
The strikes were also condemned by Iraq despite the partnership between the two countries.
"The Ministerial Council for National Security expressed its strong condemnation and censure of the American bombing that targeted a site on our border with Syria," according to a statement sent to Newsweek on Monday by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's office, "stressing that this attack represents a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty, which is rejected by all international laws and covenants."
The council stated that it "is studying resorting to all available legal options to prevent the recurrence of such attacks that violate Iraq's airspace and territory, in addition to conducting a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the accident and its causes, and working to prevent it from recurring in the future."
The council also "affirmed that the government has continuous sessions of dialogue with the American side, which have reached advanced stages and to the level of discussing the logistical details of the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, the details of which will be announced later."
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes in a statement sent to Newsweek, as did the Defense Ministry and military Security Media Cell in separate messages shared that same day.
In Syria, the U.S. is considered an occupying force by the government, which is backed by both Iran and Russia in a decade-long civil war in which the U.S. once offered assistance to rebel forces.
Since 2015, the U.S. has allied with a largely Kurdish force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, whose main focus is the defeat of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
Attempts to reconcile the differences between the Syrian government and Syrian Democratic Forces have yet to produce results, however, and tensions remain, especially as local and regional groups supported by Iran also in the anti-ISIS fight maintain a presence near U.S. lines of control.
These U.S. positions are largely based near oil and gas fields, prompting further criticism from Damascus and its allies, who accused Washington of stealing the country's natural resources and violating its sovereignty.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/middleea ... d=msedgntp
"U.S. Military 'Under Multiple Rocket Attack' in Syria after Strikes, Fires Back"
Tom O'Connor
29 JUNE 2021
U.S. forces in Syria came under attack by multiple launch rocket systems in the wake of a series of airstrikes targeting suspected Iran-backed militias along the country's border with Syria, prompting troops to return fire.
"At approx. 7:44 PM local time, U.S. Forces in Syria were attacked by multiple rockets," U.S.-led coalition spokesperson Army Colonel Wayne Marotto said in an initial statement Monday.
"There are no injuries and damage is being assessed."
"We will provide updates when we have more information."
In a follow-up message, he said the U.S. military had retaliated.
"Update: U.S. Forces in Syria, while under multiple rocket attack, acted in self- defense and conducted counter-battery artillery fire at rocket launching positions," Marotto said.
The exchange comes a day after the Pentagon conducted what Press Secretary John Kirby called "defensive precision air strikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region."
"The targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq," Kirby said.
"Specifically, the U.S. strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries."
He identified two of the groups targeted as Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, two Iraqi factions operation as part of the pro-Iran "Axis of Resistance."
Kirby said the strikes demonstrated how Biden "has been clear that he will act to protect U.S. personnel."
"Given the ongoing series of attacks by Iran-backed groups targeting U.S. interests in Iraq, the President directed further military action to disrupt and deter such attacks," Kirby said.
"We are in Iraq at the invitation of the Government of Iraq for the sole purpose of assisting the Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to defeat ISIS."
"The United States took necessary, appropriate, and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation — but also to send a clear and unambiguous deterrent message."
He argued that the U.S. was justified in taking action under international law "pursuant to its right of self-defense," and, on the domestic level, cited the White House's Article II authority granted in the wake of 9/11 to pursue designated terrorist organizations.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the recent airstrikes, which appeared to target the eastern areas of Al-Hury, Qasabat and As Sakik.
"The Syrian Arab Republic condemns the blatant U.S. aggression on the Syrian-Iraqi border region and considers it a flagrant violation of the sanctity of Syrian and Iraqi lands," the ministry said in a statement Monday.
"Syria renews its call to the U.S. administration to respect the unity of the land and people of Syria and Iraq and to stop these attacks on the independence of the two countries immediately."
The strikes were also condemned by Iraq despite the partnership between the two countries.
"The Ministerial Council for National Security expressed its strong condemnation and censure of the American bombing that targeted a site on our border with Syria," according to a statement sent to Newsweek on Monday by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's office, "stressing that this attack represents a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty, which is rejected by all international laws and covenants."
The council stated that it "is studying resorting to all available legal options to prevent the recurrence of such attacks that violate Iraq's airspace and territory, in addition to conducting a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the accident and its causes, and working to prevent it from recurring in the future."
The council also "affirmed that the government has continuous sessions of dialogue with the American side, which have reached advanced stages and to the level of discussing the logistical details of the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq, the details of which will be announced later."
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes in a statement sent to Newsweek, as did the Defense Ministry and military Security Media Cell in separate messages shared that same day.
In Syria, the U.S. is considered an occupying force by the government, which is backed by both Iran and Russia in a decade-long civil war in which the U.S. once offered assistance to rebel forces.
Since 2015, the U.S. has allied with a largely Kurdish force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, whose main focus is the defeat of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).
Attempts to reconcile the differences between the Syrian government and Syrian Democratic Forces have yet to produce results, however, and tensions remain, especially as local and regional groups supported by Iran also in the anti-ISIS fight maintain a presence near U.S. lines of control.
These U.S. positions are largely based near oil and gas fields, prompting further criticism from Damascus and its allies, who accused Washington of stealing the country's natural resources and violating its sovereignty.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/middleea ... d=msedgntp