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US Personnel Wounded in Attack Against Base in Iraq, Officials Say
Military vehicles of US soldiers are seen at Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/John Davison
At least five US personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday, US officials told Reuters, as the Middle East braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week’s killing of senior members of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Two Katyusha rockets were fired at al Asad airbase in western Iraq, two Iraqi security sources said. One Iraqi security source said the rockets fell inside the base. It was unclear whether the attack was linked to threats by Iran to retaliate over the killing of the Hamas leader.
The US officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said one of the wounded Americans was seriously injured. The casualty count was based on initial reports which could still change, they said.
“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” one of the officials added.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge by Iran on Israel. Iran blamed Israel for the killing, but Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Coupled with the killing of the senior military commander of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, by Israel in a strike on Beirut last week, the killings have fueled concern the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
Iran has said the US bears responsibility in the assassination of Haniyeh because of its support for Israel.
In a call on Monday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant agreed that the attack marked “a dangerous escalation,” according to a Pentagon readout.
Last week the US carried out a strike in Iraq against individuals US officials said were militants getting ready to launch drones and posed a threat to US and coalition forces.
The US has been watching to see if Iran would make good on its vow to respond to the killing of Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran, one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian terror group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.
The Pentagon has said it will deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the Middle East, as Washington seeks to bolster defenses following threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.
A rare ally of both the US and Iran, Iraq hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.
Iraq wants troops from the US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition’s work by September 2025, Iraqi sources have said, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.
Baghdad has struggled to reign in Iran-backed armed groups that have attacked US forces there and in neighboring Syria dozens of time since Oct. 7.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani spoke with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday.
An Iraqi official said Blinken asked Sudani to help decrease regional tensions by helping to convince Iran to temper its response to what it says was an Israeli strike in Tehran that killed the leader of Hamas last week.
US Army General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, head of US Central Command, is currently in the Middle East. One of the US officials said Kurilla was speaking with allies to ensure there was coordination in case of an Iranian attack against Israel.
The post US Personnel Wounded in Attack Against Base in Iraq, Officials Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.