Rockets Hit Iraq Base Hosting US Troops, Stoking Concerns

Two rockets hit the Al-Balad air base, north of Baghdad, late Thursday, Iraqi security forces said, the latest in a flurry of attacks on bases hosting US troops that has alarmed US officials

Baghdad, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Dec, 2019 ) :Two rockets hit the Al-Balad air base, north of Baghdad, late Thursday, Iraqi security forces said, the latest in a flurry of attacks on bases hosting US troops that has alarmed US officials.

It came as Washington considers deploying between 5,000 and 7,000 fresh troops to the middle East to counter its arch-foe Iran, a US official told AFP.

Thursday's attack with Katyusha rockets did not cause any casualties or material damage but "came close," a US official told AFP.

Washington has been concerned by a recent spate of attacks on Iraqi bases where some 5,200 US troops are deployed to help Iraqi forces ensure militants do not regroup.