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US Bases In Iraq Attacked By Iran In Retaliation For Soleimani Death

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Shelby Talcott Senior White House Correspondent
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Multiple air bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq came under missile attack from Iran on Tuesday night, according to multiple reports.

Jennifer Griffin, the national security correspondent for Fox News, tweeted Tuesday that a “senior US military source in Iraq” confirmed an attack on the Iraqi and United States Armed Forces’ Al-Asad air base. A second attack occurred at the Irbil base, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they fired the missiles in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike on Jan. 2, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Under missile attack from Iran,” the source said according to Griffin’s tweet. “These are either cruise missiles or short range ballistic missiles. All over the country.”

This attack is just the latest in a series of rocket attacks against U.S.-Iraqi bases in Iraq, according to past reports. An American contractor was killed during a rocket attack at an Iraqi base in December and another attack on a base with U.S. troops in November caused no deaths.

Other past attacks occurred in November, May and June, according to past news reports.

WATCH:

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said that they are “aware of reports of attacks” on the facility, Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire tweeted. (RELATED: ‘Pardon The Skepticism’: Tucker Carlson Wonders Why Everyone Is Suddenly Trusting The Deep State On Iran)

“We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq,” Grisham said. “The President [Donald Trump] has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team.”

The Pentagon confirmed the attack in a statement from the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan Hoffman.

“At approximately 5:30 p.m. (EST) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq,” according to the statement. “It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil.”

“We are working on initial battle damage assessments.”

There have been no confirmed Iraqi or American casualties, CNN reported.

The attacks come after President Donald Trump approved airstrikes near Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 2 that killed Soleimani, who led Iran’s elite Quds Force. Soleimani’s death increased tensions in the region.

This post is breaking and will be updated.