A roadside bomb explosion hits a truck belonging to the US-led coalition forces south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Abul Ragheef added that the coalition also wants to protect its forces, presence and facilities in Iraq, especially Baghdad. The coalition’s spokesman said 10 rockets hit the base at 7:20am (0420 GMT) and Iraqi security forces said they had found the platform from which 10 “Grad-type rockets” were fired. In the alert, the American Embassy said the US “Department of State warns US citizens against travel to Afghanistan. "Coalition forces are in Iraq to fight Daesh at the invitation of the Iraqi government," he tweeted, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. It took them a while to finally explain why they were there. It’s official: The U.S. military is drawing down to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and 2,500 service members in Iraq before President Donald Trump leaves office, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller announced on Tuesday. The explosions, close to the diplomatic quarter, set embassies' warning sirens blaring two days before a major donor conference for Afghanistan in Geneva. Several rockets hit residential areas of the Afghan capital in the early rush hour on Saturday, killing at least three civilians and wounding a dozen more, police officials said. Pope Francis said his planned visit to Iraq on Friday would go ahead despite the latest violence. The US Department of Defense confirmed a US civilian contractor died after suffering a … A police source said a roadside bomb hit a car and that jihadists had opened fire on a rescue team of policemen and state-aligned paramilitary forces when they arrived at the scene, about 200km from the capital. Iraqi security sources said the projectiles were launched from a platform in the al-Baghdadi area, about 8km (5 miles) to the north-east. The Pope has insisted he will not postpone his historic trip to Iraq despite his predecessor Benedict XVI and others warning of the risks posed by militant groups and a second wave of the country's Covid-19 epidemic. Six Iraqi security personnel and three civilians were killed in an ambush on Saturday carried out by the Islamic State (IS) group north of Baghdad, police and a local official said. The US Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert to all its citizens on Saturday, just hours after a rocket attack rattled residents across the capital and suggested Americans in Kabul “may wish to consider departing”. Protest to mark police killing of Breonna Taylor. Ten rockets have hit a base hosting US-led coalition forces in western Iraq. Denmark and the UK, which also have forces at the base, both condemned the attack. The southern and central portions of Iraq began to erupt in urban guerilla combat as coalition forces attempted to keep control and prepared for a counteroffensive. EU closes ranks over Covid surge and vaccine delays, Hungry, angry and fleeing horrors in Mozambique, Actress stages naked protest at 'French Oscars'1, Racist slur overheard as basketball players kneel2, Italy tightens Covid restrictions amid 'new wave'3, Met officer in court over Sarah Everard death4, Homemade submarine seized in Spanish drugs raid5, Protest to mark police killing of Breonna Taylor6, Moscow police detain 200 people at opposition forum7, Bolivia's ex-president arrested for 'coup'8, Scientists unlock mysteries of ancient 'computer'9. A contractor was killed at K-1 in December 2019 and several coalition personnel were killed at Camp Taji in March 2020. Confused, she invited them in out of the cold. The Department of Defense announced today the death of an Airman who was supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. next. Iraq rocket attack kills contractor, wounds US service member: US coalition Smoke rises over the Erbil, after reports of mortar shells landing near Erbil airport, Iraq February 15, 2021. No other deaths or injuries were confirmed. In response to insurgent attacks, coalition forces focused on hunting down the remaining leaders of the former regime, culminating in the shooting deaths of Saddam's two sons in July. A rocket attack on the U.S.-led coalition in northern Iraq on Monday killed a contractor and injured a U.S. service member and five other contractors, the U.S. military said. The Ministry of Health and Environment registered on Friday 4593 new cases, 4505 recoveries, and 68 fatalities of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. According to CENTCOM, the mission was intended to “deter aggression and reassure U.S. partners and allies.”. © 2021 BBC. George Floyd death: How will jurors be selected? An air base hosting US, Iraqi and coalition forces in Iraq was targeted on Wednesday by at least 10 rockets, US coalition officials said. Killed in Iraq. Coalition Forces meet with Peshmerga and ISF at JCCC. The group has continued to operate mostly underground in both Iraq and Syria after the coalition and partner forces eliminated ISIS’s physical caliphate in 2019 and killed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in an October 2019 raid by U.S. forces. Mortars slammed into a residential area of the Afghan capital, killing eight people, hours before outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held what are likely his last meetings with the Taliban and Afghan government negotiators trying to hammer out a peace deal. Home. US officials said the group was merely a front for one of the main Shia militias, and the retaliatory strikes on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq had targeted buildings believed to belong to several of them, including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. At least two Katyusha rockets hit inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Tuesday, two Iraqi officials said, wounding at least two people and signaling an end to an informal truce announced by Iran-backed militias in October. Just days before Christmas, she heard someone pull into her driveway and then knock on her door. Coalition spokesman Col Wayne Marotto said 10 indirect-fire rockets targeted the facility at 07:20 local time (04:20 GMT) on Wednesday. A statement from the Department of Defense said they do not have a complete picture of the extent of the damage. "Coalition forces are in Iraq to fight Daesh at the invitation of the Iraqi government," he tweeted, using the Arabic acronym for IS. 'We women are pushed out of work because of childcare' Video'We women are pushed out of work because of childcare', How a woman's death sparked UK soul-searching, Army of volunteers restore lost photos after tsunami, How eating online is bringing women freedom. "We stand by as needed to assist our Iraqi partners as they investigate," it said. Video, How eating online is bringing women freedom, Actress stages naked protest at 'French Oscars', Racist slur overheard as basketball players kneel, Met officer in court over Sarah Everard death, Homemade submarine seized in Spanish drugs raid, Moscow police detain 200 people at opposition forum, Bolivia's ex-president arrested for 'coup', Scientists unlock mysteries of ancient 'computer', Biden’s first strike targets Iran-backed militias, US 'outraged' by deadly rocket attack in Iraq. Sonja Ruhren vividly recalls that morning 16 years ago. ERBIL: A rocket attack on U.S.-led forces in northern Iraq on Monday killed a civilian contractor and injured a U.S. service member, the U.S. coalition in Iraq said, in the deadliest such attack in almost a year. TaskandPurpose : The inside story of the deadliest attack on a U.S. military base during the Iraq War, middleeasteye : Iraqi security forces killed in Islamic State attack, say police, taskandpurpose : Thousands of troops will depart Iraq and Afghanistan before Trump leaves office, AP : Iraqi officials say 2 rockets land in Baghdad's Green Zone, ShafaqNews : COVID-19. Captain Kelliann Leli, 30, of Parlin, New Jersey, died November 27 in a non-combat related vehicle incident at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. There are currently about 4,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and roughly 3,000 troops in Iraq. Western security sources told AFP the rockets were Iranian-made Arash models, which are 122mm artillery rockets and heavier than those seen in similar attacks. "We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the individual who died.". Last month, a rocket attack in northern Iraq killed a Filipino contractor and injured a US service member. He was gone. The young black medic was shot dead when police raided her home in Louisville, Kentucky, a year ago. But Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation force, which is dominated by Shia militias, said the US action pointed to "dangerous future developments". The barrage of rockets hit in and near a military air base occupied by the U.S.-led coalition at Erbil International Airport. Baghdad: At least 10 rockets targeted a military base in western Iraq that hosts US-led coalition troops on Wednesday, the coalition and the Iraqi military said.It was not immediately known if there were any casualties. It also supported the Special Forces in the Green Zone with equipment worth about $20 million, in addition to another possible batch of aid … The building partner capacity mission aims to increase the security capacity of local forces fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The security situation in Afghanistan is extremely unstable, and the threat to all US citizens in Afghanistan remains critical. A little-known group calling itself Saraya Awliyaa al-Dam (Guardians of the Blood Brigades) claimed it had carried out the attack at Irbil International Airport last month, which killed the Filipino contractor and wounded six other people, including a Louisiana National Guard soldier and four American contractors. We use cookies, just to track visits to our website, we store no personal details. Who truly was the most dishonest president? Kuwait’s defense forces were rapidly overwhelmed, and BAGHDAD, Iraq — A U.S. contractor died Wednesday when at least 10 rockets slammed into an air base housing U.S. and other coalition troops in western Iraq, the Pentagon said. She was assigned to the 60th Healthcare Operations Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, California. Italy tightens Covid restrictions amid 'new wave', UK police officer charged with Sarah Everard murder. The US Department of Defense confirmed a US civilian contractor died after suffering a heart attack while sheltering. They had come to talk to her about her only child, Davey, her best friend, her “Golden Boy,” the sensitive, generous, forgiving son with green eyes she raised as a single mother. 11/17/2020 taskandpurpose : Thousands of troops will depart Iraq and Afghanistan before Trump leaves office It’s official: The U.S. military is drawing down to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and 2,500 service members in Iraq before President Donald Trump leaves office, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller announced on Tuesday. Roadside bombs hit US-led coalition convoys in central, southern Iraq: Report Thursday, 04 February 2021 3:55 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 04 February 2021 7:23 PM ] In this file picture, US army soldiers stand next to a military vehicle in the town of Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq. Iraq rocket attack kills contractor, wounds US service member: US coalition A coalition spokesman said on Twitter the attack hit coalition forces in … An airbase hosting US, Iraqi and coalition forces in Iraq was targeted on Wednesday by at least 10 rockets, US coalition officials said. US troops are stationed at Al Asad air base, in western Anbar province, as part of a multinational coalition helping Iraqi security forces combat remnants of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). Ten rockets have hit a base hosting US-led coalition forces in western Iraq. One was a chaplain. The rockets struck Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province at 7.20 am, spokesman Colonel Wayne Marotto said. Read about our approach to external linking. The ministry said in a statement the total number of confirmed cases has reached 341699, including 59566 inpatients and 553 ICU patients. 'We women are pushed out of work because of childcare' Video, 'We women are pushed out of work because of childcare', How eating online is bringing women freedom. "The people cannot be let down for a second time," the 84-year-old said in an address on Wednesday, referring to a cancelled visit by John Paul II in 2000. The cause of the incident is under investigation. AFP news agency cited a Western security source as identifying them as Iranian-made 122mm Arash artillery rockets. B-52 Stratofortress crews assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base conducted a “short-notice, long-range mission” in the Middle East Saturday, according to U.S. Central Command. President Joe Biden said those strikes - the first known use of military force by his administration - were meant as a warning to Iran and its proxies. No group has said it fired the rockets, but Shia militias who want US and other foreign forces to leave the country have been accused of carrying out dozens of similar attacks on Western targets in Iraq in the past year. On February 15 a contractor was killed and others wounded in Erbil. The death toll has reached 8867. Read about our approach to external linking. 11/27/2020: Leli, Kelliann: Captain: United States: U.S. Air Force: 30: United Arab Emirates: NA: Al Dhafra Air Base: Non-hostile - vehicle accident: New Jersey: Parlin VideoHow eating online is bringing women freedom. 4593 new cases and 68 fatalities in Iraq today, kfyrtv : B-52s from Minot Air Force Base sent to Middle East Saturday, TVNZ : ISIS attack hits Afghan capital killing eight, ariananews : US Embassy issues Alert to all Americans in Kabul following rocket attack, TheGuardian : Afghanistan - footage shows aftermath of rocket strikes in Kabul. A pair of uniformed troops stood on her front porch in Stafford, Virginia. On August 2, 1990, at about 2 a.m. local time, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait, Iraq’s tiny, oil-rich neighbor. The US blamed Iran-backed Shia militias and carried out retaliatory air strikes on one of their facilities in Syria. After Trump, what will Biden do about Iran? They appeared painfully uncomfortable.