Iraqis, United Nations slam ‘terror attack’
US, UK troop deaths risk escalating strife
BAGHDAD: Top Iraqi politicians joined the United Nations yesterday in condemning a rocket attack north of Baghdad that killed a British soldier and two Americans and threatened a new escalation.
On Thursday morning, Iraq’s military command said the attack was “a serious security challenge” and pledged to open an investigation.
President Barham Saleh and parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi condemned the “terrorist attack” which targeted “Iraq and its security”.
The attack came less than three months after a similar rocket attack killed an American contractor in Iraq, setting off a spiral of attacks that nearly led to war between the US and Iran.
The two Americans killed were active-duty troops with the Army and Air Force, an American military official said.
The official said that 12 members of the US-led military coalition in Iraq of various nationalities were wounded in the attack on the base, Camp Taji.
The White House and Pentagon had no immediate comment on the rocket attacks.
A senior Trump administration official said that senior national security aides were closely following the situation but declined to comment further until a more detailed assessment of what happened and who was responsible was available.
A British defence spokesman confirmed “an incident involving UK service personnel” but declined to comment further.
The American military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the attack was under investigation, said that 30 107-mm Katyusha rockets were fired at the base from improvised truck launchers. Of those, 18 landed on Camp Taji.
Iraqi forces found a rocket-rigged truck a few miles from Camp Taji, the American military said in a statement.
The names of the victims were not released pending notification of their families.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility and American officials said Wednesday night that they were still assessing who carried out the attack.
After the rocket attack that killed the American contractor in December, the United States blamed Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia with ties to Iran, and bombed five of its bases.
The American retaliation led to a siege of the US Embassy in Baghdad and then an American drone attack that killed the leader of Iran’s elite Quds force, Gen Qassem Soleimani.
The cycle of attacks and counterattacks ended more than two weeks later after Iran launched 16 cruise missiles at bases in Iraq that house American forces.