US military denies striking rocket launcher in Iraq

The US military said it did not carry out an air strike on a rocket launcher on Monday near Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq which hosts US and other international forces, a US military official said on Thursday.

"The vehicle mounted rocket launcher, which was reportedly found approximately 7km east of Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq, was not destroyed as a result of a US air strike", the US military official told Reuters.

Two Iraqi army officials told Reuters on Tuesday that a US air strike on a rocket launcher late on Monday foiled an attack on Ain al-Asad air base. read more

The US military official said "any damage to the launcher could have been the result of a malfunction or misfire".

Since October 17, the US and Coalition forces have been attacked at least 130 times in Iraq and Syria, the US military official said.

As of Thursday, there had been 53 attacks in Iraq and 77 in Syria, usually with a mix of one-way attack drones, rockets, mortars, and close-range ballistic missiles, the official added.

Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel's campaign in Gaza and hold the US partly responsible.

Reuters