Baghdad,Iraq — At least 10 rockets slammed into a military base in western Iraq hosting US-led coalition troops on Wednesday, security sources said, leaving one civilian contractor dead.
The attack on the sprawling Ain al-Assad base in Iraq’s western desert comes after several weeks of escalating US-Iran tensions on Iraqi soil — and just two days before Pope Francis’s historic visit.
Ain al-Assad hosts both Iraqi forces and US-led coalition troops helping fight the Islamic State group, as well as the unmanned drones the coalition uses to surveil jihadist sleeper cells.
Coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto confirmed that 10 rockets hit the base at 7:20 a.m. (0420 GMT) while …
Keep on reading: One dead in rocket attack on Iraq base hosting US troops