A ‘number’ of U.S. personnel injured after attack on Iraq air base : NPR

This Dec. 29, 2019, aerial file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq.

Nasser Nasser/AP

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Nasser Nasser/AP

This Dec. 29, 2019, aerial file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq.

Nasser Nasser/AP

An unknown number of U.S. service members and at least one Iraqi service member suffered injuries in an attack by Iranian-backed militants on an air base in western Iraq, U.S. officials said.

A barrage of missiles and rockets targeted the Ain al-Asad base on Saturday evening, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Most of the missiles were intercepted by the base’s air defense systems, according to the military, but an untold number hit the base where Americans and Iraqis are stationed. A damage assessment is ongoing.

A “number” of U.S. personnel are being evaluated for traumatic brain injuries, CENTCOM said, without specifying how many.

Last month, three U.S. service members were wounded, one critically, in a drone attack on their base in northern Iraq. The U.S. responded with airstrikes that it said destroyed facilities and likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants in Iraq.

It’s the latest in a series of back-and-forth attacks between Iran-aligned groups and U.S. forces in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that led to the deadly war in Gaza. Since then, the U.S. has issued warnings of a wider war in the region. Hamas is part of a regional alliance supported by Iran and loosely united by their resistance to Western powers and Israel.

NPR’s Tom Bowman contributed to this report.