3 killed during rocket attack on Iraq base

Baghdad, March 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Two Americans and a British soldier were killed, while 12 others injured after a base hosting US and UK troops in Iraq was hit by a rocket attack, it was reported on Thursday.

In a statement, the US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria confirmed that 18 rockets had on Wednesday evening struck the Taji military camp, located north of Baghdad, and killed the three personnel, the BBC said in a report.

The American victims comprised a contractor and a soldier.

In an earlier tweet, a spokesman for the coalition said the attack took place at 7.35 p.m. on Wednesday. He added that an investigation had been launched.

In response to the attack, the UK Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm we are aware of an incident involving UK service personnel at Camp Taji, Iraq. An investigation is under way, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."

In a statement, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the attack was "deplorable".

"The Foreign Secretary has spoken to the US secretary of state and we will continue to liaise with our international partners to fully understand the details of this abhorrent attack," the BBC quoted Johnson as saying in the statement on Wednesday night.

There has been no responsibility claims from any group so far.

Wednesday's deadly attack put the death toll of US soldiers in Iraq to four in four days, reports Xinhua news agency.

Two US marines died on March 8 during a mission to eliminate an Islamic State (IS) terrorist stronghold in a mountainous area of north-central Iraq.

There are about 5,000 US military personnel and hundreds more from other countries in Iraq as part of a global coalition against the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

The coalition is tasked with advising and assisting Iraqi security forces trying to prevent a resurgence of IS, which was defeated militarily in Iraq in 2017 but still has thousands of militants in the country.

Source: IANS