Two months after a deadly escalation between the United States and Iran on Iraqi soil, the specter of a confrontation between the two countries once again looms. Three members of the international coalition to fight the Islamic State organization (IS), two Americans and a Briton, were killed in the evening of Wednesday, March 11, in rocket attacks on the Iraqi base of Taji, north of Baghdad , where they were stationed. Twelve other people were injured, including at least five seriously, according to the United States Department of Defense. An investigation was opened to identify those responsible, the Pentagon said.
During a telephone conversation, the American chief of diplomacy, Mike Pompeo, and his British counterpart, Dominic Raab, demanded that the perpetrators of the attacks "Be accountable", according to the United States Department of State. Iraqi officials denounced the attack, described as "Very dangerous security challenge". Suspicion points to Iranian-linked Iraqi armed factions, which have been blamed for a series of attacks on American interests in Iraq since the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and the reinstatement of sanctions, in May 2018.
Attacks on diplomatic representations and bases where American soldiers are stationed have intensified since October 2019 and the start of a protest movement in Baghdad and in the south of the country, which destabilizes the religious parties and the Shiite militias in power , as well as their Iranian godfather. Wednesday’s attack on Taji camp was the deadliest. Eighteen rockets hit the base at around 7 p.m. local time, according to the international coalition. A truck equipped with a rocket launcher was found a few kilometers away.
Deadly escalation in late December
A few hours later, air raids targeted Iran’s supply positions on the Iraq – Syria border, killing 26 Iraqi paramilitaries, Syrian Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahmane said. . "Ten explosions" shook an area south of the Syrian city of Al-Boukamal, which borders Iraq, he said. The origin of these raids remains to be established. US officials have said on condition of anonymity that the United States has not yet conducted reprisal raids.
An attack similar to that of Camp Taji was the source, in late December 2019, of a deadly escalation between Washington and Tehran on Iraqi soil. An American contractor was killed in the firing of 30 rockets at the K1 military base in Kirkuk, northern Iraq. In retaliation, the US military struck five bases in Iraq and Syria for Hezbollah (Kataeb Hezbollah) brigades, which were blamed for the attack on K1 base. It had killed 25 people in the ranks of the pro-Iranian militia.
