US denies attack near Ain Al-Asad airbase

Shafaq News / A US military official denied that the United States had conducted an airstrike on a missile launch platform near Ain Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq last Monday (January 8th).

Two Iraqi military officials had previously informed Reuters on Tuesday (January 9th) that a US airstrike on a missile launch platform late on Monday thwarted an attack on Ain Al-Asad Airbase.

Reuters reported the military official stating that "a rocket launcher mounted on a vehicle, reportedly found about seven kilometers east of Ain Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, was not destroyed as a result of a US airstrike."

The official added that any damage to the launch platform might be due to a malfunction or fault during launch.

The official stated that US and coalition forces have been attacked at least 130 times in Iraq and Syria since October 7th, noting that as of Thursday, there were 53 attacks in Iraq and 77 in Syria.

Tensions have escalated in Iraq's official and political positions against the international coalition and US forces in the country following the attack on Thursday targeting the headquarters of the "Al-Nujaba Movement" in Baghdad.

The attack resulted in the killing of the Special Operations Commander of the faction, whom Washington accuses of carrying out attacks against military bases in Iraq and Syria.