American personnel were injured in a missile attack on an Iraqi air base by Iranian-backed insurgents

The Pentagon announced that a number of American soldiers were injured in a missile attack launched by Iranian-backed rebels on Saturday evening on the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq.

At approximately 6:30 p.m. local time, Iranian-backed militants fired several ballistic missiles from western Iraq, US Central Command said. He said in a Statement posted on social media.

US Central Command said the base's air defense systems intercepted “most of the missiles,” but “others impacted the base.”

US Central Command said several US personnel were being evaluated for brain injuries, and at least one Iraqi soldier was injured. No further details were immediately provided.

This represents the 144th attack on American forces stationed in Iraq and Syria since Hamas launched its violent attack on October 7 on Israel and ignited the war between Israel and Hamas. It is also one of the largest attacks of its kind, and the second in which militias have launched ballistic missiles.

In November. 20, Ballistic missile attack On Al Asad Air Base, this resulted in eight people being injured and minor damage to the base itself. The United States killed several Iranian-backed militia members in a retaliatory strike.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated since the Gaza war, with the United States repeatedly accusing Iran of being behind it. Dozens of attacks regarding commercial ships in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels based in Yemen, allegations denied by Tehran.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Confirmed Tuesday Iranian forces fired ballistic missiles at targets in both Iraq and Syria. The United States and Iraq condemned the deadly strikes that struck an area near the US consulate under construction in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq.

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that over the weekend, Captured a boat load “Advanced conventional weapons” sent from Iran to the Houthis.

— David Martin, Omar Abdelkader, Tucker Ryals S. Dev contributed to this report.