US-led coalition comes under fire in Iraq and Syria
The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group came under fire Wednesday in Iraq and Syria but reported no casualties, in the latest of several attacks that Washington blamed on "Iran-backed groups".
The surge of attacks targeting bases used by the coalition comes as Tehran and its Middle East allies held emotional commemorations marking the second anniversary Monday of the assassination of Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport.
The US said at the time that Soleimani was planning imminent action against US personnel in Iraq, a country long torn between the competing demands of its principal allies Washington and Tehran.
"Our coalition continues to see threats against our forces in Iraq and Syria by militia groups that are backed by Iran," coalition chief Maj. Gen. John W. Brennan, Jr. said in a statement.
On Wednesday, five rockets targeted an air base used by the coalition in western Iraq.
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