© GRAPHIC NEWS

El gráfico muestra la ubicación y los daños en las bases de EUA-Irak.
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EJÉRCITOS

Irán ataca bases de EUA-Irak

By Duncan Mil

January 8, 2020 - El ejército iraquí dijo que Irán lanzó 22 misiles contra la base aérea Ain al-Asad que alberga tropas de la coalición dirigida por EUA en la provincia occidental de Anbar y en una instalación en la capital kurda iraquí de Erbil, pero no hubo muertos.

Two of the 17 missiles targeting Ain al-Asad failed to explode, it said in a statement. The five on Erbil all targeted coalition headquarters. There were no casualties among Iraqi forces, the military said.

U.S. forces first used Ain al-Asad air base after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Assad air base -- also known as Camp Cupcake because of air-conditioned tents, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and swimming pools -- currently houses about 1,500 U.S. and coalition forces. U.S. troops at the base are training Iraqi security forces.

In 2015, Iraqi security forces repelled an attack by the so-called Islamic State group. U.S. President Donald Trump made an unexpected visit to the base on Christmas Day 2018.

The National Security Agency warned the White House three hours before the Iranian counterstrike in retaliation to the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani.

The early warning helps explain in part why the missiles exacted a negligible toll, destroying only evacuated aircraft hangars as they slammed into the desert sand in barren stretches of the base. No Americans or Iraqis were killed or wounded.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 09/01/2020; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
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