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The US Ain
al-Assad air base in W. Iraq and a US facility at Irbil, capital of the Kurdish
republic, were hit by 35 missiles early Wednesday, January 8, Tehran announced.
Sources
linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that these attacks were part of a
series still to come in revenge for the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimaini.
“This morning, courageous fighters of the
IRGC’s Air Force launched a successful operation called Operation Martyr
Soleimani, with the code ‘Oh Zahra’ by firing tens of ground-to-ground missiles
at the base of the terrorist and invasive U.S. forces named Ain Al Asad,” state
news outlet ISNA reported.
Iran
had vowed to retaliate U.S. killing of military commander Qassem Soleimani in a
drone attack in Iraq.
After urgent
consultations at the White House and the Pentagon on how to handle this latest
attack, President Donald Trump made this comment on Twitter: “All is well!
Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment
of casualties & damage taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most
powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world by far! I will be
making a statement tomorrow morning.”
DEBKAfile’s
military sources: The missile strikes on the two US bases occurred shortly
after the Soleimani funeral ended. It was in line with the revenge attacks that
Iran has threatened to launch against the US military in Iraq and across the
Middle East. US military facilities were already on the ready.
On Tuesday,
top war preparedness was declared at all US facilities in the region and by the
armies of America’s allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates.
The
statement issued by Israel’ security cabinet on Monday, that Israel is not
involved in the heightened tension between America and Iran following the
killing of Qassem Soleimani, was simply an attempt to calm public concerns.
Meanwhile,
the level of damage at the US bases is yet unknown.
Sources: Debkafile, ISNA Arbinio
