U.S. military base in Kirkuk under missile attack

KIRKUK, Iraq – On Thursday night, it was reported that an K-1 Air Base hosting U.S. force in Kirkuk, Iraq was struck by a single rocket. No losses or casualties were reported, and no group or party has claimed the attack.

Agence France-Presse reported that, according to three separate Iraqi security sources, a rocket struck the base at 20:45 Iraq time, and no losses or casualties were reported.

The K-1 Air Base is located 15 km northwest of Kirkuk and houses U.S. forces, Iraqi Federal Police, and Iraqi Anti-Terrorism Forces.

The last attack on K-1 was on 27 December 2019 when an American contractor was killed in a similar rocket attack. In the 27 December attack, Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia militia in Iraq, was accused by the U.S of having carried it out.

In response, the U.S. conducted several air strikes, killing 25 Kata’ib Hezbollah fighters.

Shortly thereafter, the high-ranking Iranian General Qassim Soleimani and founder of Kata’ib Hezbollah Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in an American drone strike.