NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 25 : The President of Iran Hassan Rouhani arrives to meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations on September 25, 2019 in New York City. The United Nations General Assembly, or UNGA, is expected to attract over 90 heads of state in New York City for a week of speeches, talks and high level diplomacy concerning global issues (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) Iran has taken credit for launching several rockets that hit the Al Asad military base in Iraq, which houses United States troops, on Jan. 7.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the strike in a statement. “The brave soldiers of IRGC’s aerospace unit have launched a successful attack with tens of ballistic missiles on Al Asad military base in the name of martyr Gen. Qassem Soleimani.”
BREAKING: STATEMENT FROM IRGC:
"The brave soldiers of IRGC's aerospace unit have launched a successful attack with tens of ballistic missiles on Al Assad military base in the name of martyr Gen.Qasem Soleimani."#Iraq #Iran #AlAssadBase— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 7, 2020
BREAKING: Footage of Iran attack on US base Al Assad in Iraq.#AlAssad #Iraq pic.twitter.com/8CtLpgnsw6
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 7, 2020
ABC News confirmed that Iran struck the Al Asad base; the extent of the damage and if there were any casualties is not currently known.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement, “We are aware of the reports of attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team.”
We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team.
— Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) January 7, 2020
UPDATE: The Department of Defense issued a statement saying that Iran also struck a military base housing U.S. troops in Erbil.
Just in from the Pentagon: "It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil. "
Full statement from DOD spox: pic.twitter.com/5dSMXYXQk9
— Andrew deGrandpré (@adegrandpre) January 8, 2020
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