The Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, which hosts U.S. troops, was the target of Iranian missile strikes last year<\/p>\n
Numerous rockets were reported to have hit the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of injuries among US\u00a0service personnel but an American civilian contractor died after suffering a “cardiac episode” while taking cover, a Pentagon statement said.<\/p>\n
US and Iraqi forces are housed at the base in the western Anbar province, as well as troops from other members of the Operation Inherent Resolve coalition against the “Islamic State” (IS) group<\/a>.<\/p>\n The US last week launched an airstrike in eastern Syria<\/a> on facilities used by Iran-backed militia.<\/p>\n About 13 rockets were launched from a location some 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the base, a Baghdad Operations Command official told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n The rocket attack was the second in Iraq this month, coming two days before Pope Francis is due to visit the country.<\/p>\n A rocket attack on US-led forces in northern Iraq last month killed a civilian contractor and injured a US service member.<\/p>\n Militants apparently backed by Iran fired numerous missiles at two bases that were hosting US\u00a0forces, including Ain al-Asad, last January.<\/p>\n Tehran said the attacks, which caused injuries among US personnel, were in revenge for the assassination\u00a0of General\u00a0Qassem Soleimani<\/a>, leader of the Islamic Republic’s elite Quds force.<\/p>\n Rocket attacks were also carried out on other American targets in Iraq since then, including the US Embassy in Baghdad<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two US soldiers and\u00a0a British soldier\u00a0werekilled last March at the Taji camp<\/a> \u2014\u00a0the deadliest rocket attack in years on an Iraqi military base hosting foreign troops.<\/p>\n The US military is reported to have deployed Patriot air defense systems at the Ain al-Asad base, in western Anbar province, as a precaution against Iranian attacks.<\/p>\nA history of attacks on bases<\/h2>\n