A US contractor died Wednesday when at least 10 rockets slammed into an air base housing US and coalition troops in western Iraq, the Pentagon said. The attack came two days before Pope Francis makes a historic visit to the country, which the pope said would go ahead as planned.
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the contractor “suffered a cardiac episode while sheltering” and died shortly afterward. He said there were no service members injured and all are accounted for.
The rocket attack was the first since the US struck Iran-aligned militia targets along the Iraq-Syria border last week, killing one militiaman and stoking fears of another cycle of tit-for-tat attacks as happened last year. Those attacks culminated in the US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province early in the morning, US-led coalition spokesperson Colonel Wayne Marotto said. Kirby said the rockets were fired from east of the base.
In addition to US troops, Danish and British are among those stationed at Ain al-Asad, the same base that Iran struck with a barrage of missiles in January 2020 in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani. Dozens of US service members suffered concussions in that strike.
No one claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack. The Iraqi military released a statement saying that security forces had found the launch pad used for the rockets – a truck. Video of the site shows a burning truck in a desert area.
Pope reiterates he will go to Iraq
The rocket strike came two days before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Iraq amid concerns about security and the coronavirus pandemic. The much anticipated visit will include stops in Baghdad, southern Iraq and the northern city of Irbil.
In his weekly prayer address Wednesday, the pope asked for prayers for the trip, the first ever by a Roman Catholic pontiff to Iraq.
"The day after tomorrow, God willing, I will go to Iraq for a three-day pilgrimage. For a long time I have wanted to meet these people who have suffered so much," said the 84-year-old pope.
The pope added that he would be going to Iraq, where his predecessor John Paul II was not allowed to go in 2000, because "the people cannot be let down for a second time".
"The Iraqi people are waiting for us, they were waiting for Saint John Paul II, who was forbidden to go. One cannot disappoint a people for the second time. Let us pray that this journey will be successful," he said.
The pope made no mention of the attack on the Ain al-Asad air base.
Domestic, regional tensions
Wednesday's attack came amid rising domestic and regional tensions.
Hardline Iraqi groups have an interest in ramping up the pressure on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi following his pledges to rein in rogue militias.
They may also carry a message from Tehran to Washington, which under US President Joe Biden is offering to revive the Iran nuclear deal abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump in 2018.
Iran is demanding the US lift sanctions immediately, while the US wants Iran to move first by returning to previous nuclear commitments.
British Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hickey condemned Wednesday’s attack, saying it undermined the ongoing fight against the Islamic State group. “Coalition forces are in Iraq to fight Daesh at the invitation of the Iraqi government,” he tweeted, using the Arabic acronym for IS. “These terrorist attacks undermine the fight against Daesh and destabilize Iraq.”
Denmark said coalition forces at the base were helping to bring stability and security to the country.
“Despicable attacks against Ain al-Asad base in #Iraq are completely unacceptable," Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod tweeted. The Danish armed forces said two Danes who were at the base at the time of the attack are unharmed.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
