Iraq News Now

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."