US, UK soldiers killed in Iraq attack
Washington, March 12
Two US and a British soldiers were killed by a barrage of rockets targeting Camp Taji base, located 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of Baghdad, late Wednesday. Besides, at least 12 coalition personnel were injured.
A truck rigged with 107 mm Katyusha rocket launchers was discovered by Iraqi security forces a few kilometers from the base following the attack.
A military statement from Iraq’s joint operations command said caretaker PM Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered an investigation into what he called “a very serious security challenge and hostile act.”
Meanwhile, a top US general said on Thursday said Shia militia groups in Iraq were likely responsible for the attack. The remarks leave the door open to potential escalation with Tehran. US Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of the military’s Central Command, did not blame any specific militia but noted that only Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah had been known to wage such an attack in the past. “While we are still investigating the attack, I will note that the Iranian proxy group Kataib Hezbollah is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect fire attack of this scale against US and coalition forces in Iraq,” McKenzie told a US Senate hearing. — PTI/Reuters
