KHAN AL BAGHDADI, IRAQ, (THECOUNT) — Satellite photos taken Wednesday show that an Iranian missile strike appear to show extensive damage at Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which houses U.S. and coalition troops.
The photos, provided by Planet, show hangars and buildings damaged after struck by a barrage of Iranian missiles that were fired early Wednesday morning local time.
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At least five structures were damaged in the attack at the base in Anbar province, which apparently was precise enough to hit individual buildings. “Some of the locations struck look like the missiles hit dead center,” says David Schmerler an analyst with the Middlebury Institute, reports NPR.
At least 10 rockets hit al-Asad airbase in Iraq, which houses US forces, a Sunni commander of the paramilitary forces in a nearby town told CNN.
Qatri al-Obeidi, a commander in the nearby town of al-Baghdadi, said that the shelling has stopped for now. President Donald Trump visited the base in December 2018 to visit troops after Christmas. Vice President Mike Pence also visited the base in November 2019.
The attack follows last week’s deadly US drone strike that Trump ordered to kill key Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
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Geo quick facts: Khan al-Baghdadi or al-Baghdadi is an Iraqi city on the Euphrates River in al-Anbar province. It is the closest village to the U.S. Military’s Al Asad Airbase. It was the site of a major battle with ISIL in February 2015. ISIS captured most of the town by 14 February 2015 – Wikipedia.