A US military AC-130J Ghostrider aircraft attacked an Iranian-backed militant group after the group used a ballistic missile to attack US and coalition forces at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary said today.
Sabrina Singh said during a press conference at the Pentagon that the ballistic missile attack led to non-serious injuries among American and coalition forces, as well as minor damage to the facility’s infrastructure.
She added: “Immediately after the attack, an American AC-130 military aircraft in the area conducted a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia members participating in this attack.” “This self-defense strike resulted in some enemy deaths.”
Singh said the AC-130 warplane was able to respond very quickly because it was already in the air at the time of the missile attack.
“We were able to identify the starting point of these attacks because an AC-130 aircraft was already present in the area and was therefore able to respond,” Singh said. “They were able to move because they saw the gunmen. They were able to monitor the movement of these gunmen as they moved to their cars and that is why they were able to respond.”
Singh said that since October 17, US forces have been attacked 66 times in both Iraq and Syria. She also said that this is the first time that a ballistic missile similar to the one used in this attack has been used.
Since those attacks began in October, the United States has launched three more strikes, Singh said. But those strikes were pre-planned and targeted specific facilities and infrastructure known to be used by militias affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The recent American reaction was different because it was not planned.
“These groups targeted our forces,” he added [in] “We now feel that we have taken appropriate action to destroy some of their facilities and some of their weapons… We always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing,” Singh said. “.
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