Rockets hit military base housing US forces near Baghdad

Baghdad, March 14

Fresh rocket strikes on Saturday targeted a military base housing US forces near Iraqi capital Baghdad for a second time in a week, a Defence Ministry source said.

More than 15 rockets struck the al-Taji Camp, some 20 km north of Baghdad, where some U.S. troops stationed, the source told Xinhua news agency, without giving further details about casualties.

The strikes came three days after a similar attack by unidentified militia on Camp Taji that killed two US soldiers and one British service member and wounded a dozen others.

The first attack prompted the US forces to carry out airstrikes on military bases housing paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces south of Baghdad in the early hours of Friday, leaving at least five security members and a civilian killed and 11 security members injured.

The military bases housing US troops across Iraq and the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad have been frequently targeted by insurgent mortar and rocket attacks.

Over 5,000 US troops have been deployed in Iraq to support Iraqi forces in battles against the Islamic State, mainly for training and advisory purposes. –IANS