Iraq militiaman 'killed in airstrike' after attack on base hosting US troops: reports

A member of an Iraqi militia was reportedly killed in an airstrike on Tuesday, after the Ain al-Asad base hosting US and other foreign forces was struck twice in the space of 24 hours.

A weapons-laden truck belonging to an armed faction was hit by airstrike as it travelled from Baghdad towards the western Iraqi province of Anbar, Iraqi security sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Iraqi television channel Al-Ahd said one member of the Kataib Hezbollah militia was killed in the strike, naming him as Fadhil Atia Shanin al-Maksusi.

Al-Ahd said the airstrike occurred near Abu Ghraib, a city west of Baghdad.

There was widespread speculation on Iraqi social media that Akram Al-Kaebi, the head of the pro-Iran Al-Nujaba militia, had also been killed in the airstrike. 

The strike came as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for two strikes on the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province, according to two statements published by outlets close to the militia.

The strikes were carried out using drones and ballistic missiles, according to the statements.

The group - an umbrella network of Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran - said the attacks were in response to US support for Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.

There have been dozens of strikes on bases in Iraq and Syria that host troops from the US-led international coalition present in the two countries since Israel began its onslaught on Gaza on 7 October, which was killed more than 13,000 people in the Palestinian territory.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Friday claimed responsibility for a suicide drone strike on the Harir airbase in Iraqi Kurdistan.

There are some 2,500 US troops in Iraq, whose stated aim is to train and advise Iraqi security forces fighting remnants of the Islamic State (IS) group. 

In a meeting on Monday with US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said his government was committed to protecting foreign diplomatic missions and coalition advisors in the country.