Iran Launches Missile Strikes Against US Airbase in Western Iraq

US F-35s seen taking of from UAE

Jason Ditz 

Posted onJanuary 7, 2020CategoriesNewsTagsIran, Iraq

Breaking News: Check for further updates as available

9:55 PM ET Iran says their retaliation is finished, and that they will stop attacking so long as the US doesn’t attack them anymore.

9:10 PM ET The FAA has banned all flights over Iraq and Iran for the time being, citing concern of misunderstandings. Analysts say this will be rough on regional providers, who are already coping with restrictions in Saudi Arabia and Qatar over the acrimony between those two.

8:40 PM ET President Trump is not intending to address the situation tonight.

8:05 PM ET Fox is claiming no casualties. This cannot be confirmed. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued statements any US retaliation would lead to more retaliation from them. They added that Israel would be a possible target.

7:50 PM ET: A second round of missiles reportedly launched. This may be the strikes in Irbil. Camp Taji was also reportedly hit, no confirmation yet.

Iran suggests US forces should be withdrawn from Iraq.

7:40 PM ET: US F-35 planes took off from a base in UAE. Iran reportedly warns the UAE will be attacked if American aircraft from there strike Iran.

7:35 PM ET: The Pentagon is confirming casualties among Iraqis at Ayn al-Asad airbase. No numbers yet, and damage assessment is still ongoing.

7:15 PM ET: Reports out of the Pentagon say that something in Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, was targeted as well. No word on what. The White House has confirmed that they are “aware of the reports.”

Reports are that Iran fired the missiles from Kermanshah, a Western city not far from the Iraqi border.

7:00 PM ET: Iranian forces have fired surface-to-surface ballistic missiles at the Ayn al-Asad airbase in western Iraq. The base has a substantial US military presence and is seen as retaliation for last week’s US assassination of a top Iranian general.

Iran’s Fars New Agency released a video of the missile firing, calling it “hard revenge” against the US. There are no details yet on the amount of damage done, or any casualties.

US military officials are said to have confirmed six missiles hit the base, while others, including Iraq’s PMU, reported as many as 13 missiles involved. Iran’s state media said “tens of missiles” were fired. 

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/01/07/iran-launches-missile-strikes-against-us-airbase-in-western-iraq/
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