The US government believes that Iran is behind a series of
increasingly sophisticated rocket attacks on joint US-Iraq military facilities
in Iraq, several US officials tell CNN. The attacks have taken place as the US
has grown increasingly concerned that Iran may be planning new provocations
against US troops and interests in the region, CNN reported.
The US military strongly believes Iranian-backed groups inside Iraq are responsible according to a US official with direct knowledge of the recent incidents.
There have been nine rocket attacks on or in the vicinity of
Iraqi facilities that host US troops in the last five weeks with the most
recent one taking place on Monday.
"We take these incidents seriously as do our Iraqi
Security Forces partners, who are investigating these events. We have made
clear that attacks on U.S. and Coalition personnel and facilities will not be
tolerated and we retain the right to defend ourselves. US forces operate in
Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq to support Iraqi forces
against ISIS," Pentagon spokesperson Cdr. Sean Robertson told CNN in a
statement.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Saturday that
"there have been reports in the public space about rockets being fired at
American forces on bases in Iraq."
"So we've seen a little bit of an uptick there. And
that's, again, another indicator for us of Iran reaching out," he
continued, speaking at an event hosted by the Reagan National Defense Forum in
California.
In the most recent Monday attack four rockets struck a
military training site near Baghdad International Airport where US troops train
members of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service. While no US personnel were
injured or killed, six Iraq security force members were injured according to a
statement from the Iraqi military's media office.
Following the attack, Iraqi security forces searched the
area and confiscated a pick-up truck near the base carrying a rocket launcher,
according to the same statement.
Another attack took place Thursday, with rockets landing
near Balad Air Base.
"Iranian-backed militias are now shelling Iraqi bases
with American and anti-ISIS Coalition forces on them -- Balad, al-Asad, et
cetera," the US State Department's Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern
Affairs David Schenker told reporters Friday.
"We're waiting for full evidence," he said while
later adding, "If past is prologue, I'd say there's a good chance it was
Iran that's behind it."
The types of rockets involved in some of the attacks have
become increasingly sophisticated according to one official.
The attack on the airport and a December 3 attack on Al
Assad air base both involved 122 mm rockets. Previous attacks used a 107mm
variant, which has a shorter range and carries less explosive power than the
122 mm rocket. The 122 mm rocks are more dangerous and can be fired from a
greater range and are launched from sophisticated improvised rail systems.
The increasingly sophisticated attacks come amid US
accusations that Iran has been moving short-range ballistic missiles into Iraq.
Multiple defense officials have told CNN that the US is
weighing deploying 4,000-7,000 additional troops to the Middle East in the face
of the increased threat from Iran.
However Esper pushed back on notion that additional troops
are going to be sent, saying Saturday, "I'm not looking at any major
deployments coming up in the region. That said, on a day-to-day basis, we
monitor what's happening in the Middle East, on the Korean peninsula, in the
European theater -- all over the world, and we make adjustments to our forces
up or down based on what the needs of the commander are, and that happens
again, routinely."