BAGHDAD, Jun 10 (NNN-NINA) – At least three Katyusha rockets, yesterday, struck an Iraqi military airbase in Salahudin province, north of the capital Baghdad, a provincial security source said.
The incident took place in the evening, when the rockets landed on the Balad Air Base, some 90 km north of Baghdad, without immediate reports about casualties, Mohammed al-Bazi, from the provincial police, said.
Two of the rockets hit a building inside the airbase, leaving minor damages, al-Bazi said, adding that, the rockets were fired from the neighbouring province of Diyala.
Balad, which houses Iraqi F-16 fighters and a camp for some U.S. experts for the jets, is the largest military airbase in Iraq. The U.S. troops and experts withdrew previously from the airbase, after their camp came under a series of rocket attacks by militias.
However, Tahseen al-Khafaji, spokesman of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said that, the international coalition has begun providing spare parts for the F-16 and other aircraft, as part of the coalition’s support for the Iraqi security forces.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The Iraqi military bases, housing U.S. troops across Iraq, as well as, the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone, have been frequently targeted by mortar and rocket attacks.– NNN-NINA
