2 American Soldiers Killed in Rocket Attack on Base in Iraq: Official

Iraqi security forces near Camp Taji, Baghdad, in a file photo. Reuters/Ahmed Saad

Iraqi authorities confirmed that 10 rockets were fired at Camp Taji near Baghdad on Wednesday, March 10. Camp Taji houses U.S. troops.

U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. William Urban confirmed to news outlets on Wednesday that two American service members and another coalition service member were killed in the attack.

“Ten Katyusha rockets landed inside the Camp Taji, without losses,” said Iraqi military officials on Wednesday, referring to the type of Russian-made missiles that are often used by Iran-backed paramilitary forces in the country.

A truck with a missile platform was located with “three missiles remaining south of the Rashidiya area,” the officials said.

Photos posted by the Iraqi Security Media Cell, which is operated by the prime minister’s office, showed the truck and the missile launchers.

It’s not clear who was behind the rocket attack. Further details about the incident were not provided.

About a month ago, four rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy “Green Zone” in Baghdad, the military said at the time. It also follows a string of attacks involving Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops.

Rockets were also fired at Camp Taji in mid-January amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, according to reports at the time.

Iran, in January, claimed responsibility after a barrage of missiles were fired at two airbases holding U.S. troops, causing minor head injuries to more than 100 soldiers, according to the Pentagon. It came after the United States authorized the killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who was traveling near the Baghdad airport, days before that.

A general view shows the U.S. embassy across the Tigris river in Iraq's capital Baghdad on Jan. 3, 2020. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images

White House officials said Soleimani was plotting attacks on American assets in the region while adding that forces loyal to him in Iraq killed an American contractor in late December 2019. Around the same time, Iran-backed forces and protesters tried to storm the U.S. Embassy before the airstrike was carried out.

Last year, the U.S. State Department designated the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps, Soleimani’s Quds Force, and Kataib Hezbollah all as terrorist organizations.

Rockets also landed near Camp Taji last summer. At the time, Katyusha rockets were used. The Army Times last year reported that a U.S. soldier supporting the Inherent Resolve coalition died in a non-combat incident in Camp Taji. The soldier was identified as Sgt. Nathan G. Irish.