Australian Defence Force’s Camp Taji in Iraq hit by a barrage of rockets
The Australian Defence Force’s primary operating base in Iraq has been hit by a barrage of rockets, killing three Coalition troops.
National
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THREE Coalition troops were killed and another 12 personnel wounded in a multiple rocket attack fired from a converted tradies truck on Australia’s primary military base in Iraq, prompting a retaliatory US air strike on Iranian-backed militia forces.
An American soldier and a contractor and a British soldier were killed in the strike on Camp Taji north of capital Baghdad from a volley of at least 18 107mm Katyusha rockets fired onto the sprawling base from the back of a modified Kia Bongo flatbed truck parked outside the fortified perimeter.
Among the wounded were Polish troops also stationed at Taji which has been the main operating base for the Australian Defence Force for six years after it was first taken by US forces from Saddam Hussein’s army during Gulf War 2 in 2003.
The ADF was quick last night to assure that no Australian personnel were among the casualties and its personnel were “safe”.
“Defence is closely monitoring the situation, the safety of our people is our highest priority,” a spokesman said.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds condemned the “malicious attack in the strongest possible terms” and offered condolences to the families of the dead and injured.
“The Government is closely monitoring the security situation at Taji and across Iraq and we maintain close contact with the US and coalition partners, including through our Embassies and officials,” she said.
A witness outside the base heard the attack.
“I heard screams and panic at the American forces inside the camp, and they were rushing to extinguish the fires that devoured the camp,” he said.
“There were soldiers shouting and sirens. It was in an agricultural area 10 km near the camp.”
Within hours of the overnight attack, US-led Coalition air strikes were launched against Iranian-aligned Iraqi militia on both side of the Iraq-Syria border. In their sites were members of Iraq’s Hashed ak-Shaabi militia.
Independent monitors confirmed at least 18 Hashed fighters in the Al Bukamal border township region on the Euphrates River in Syria were killed.
Hashed’s deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and six of his men as well as Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani were killed at Baghdad’s airport in January by a targeted US drone strike.
The slaying has prompted Hashed and other groups to vow attacks on all US forces and their allies across Iraq.
The rocket attack was the 22nd against US-led interests in Iraq since late October, the second on Taji, and the deadliest marking a dangerous escalation in hostilities.
Last November the ADF began a drawdown of its Iraqi deployment, cutting its force of 300 personnel force by almost half.
Under Operation Okra, the ADF’s contribution to an international effort to combat ISIS and other black-listed groups began in 2014 by training local Iraqi forces including its army, special forces and police.
Defence sources confirmed to News Corp Australia a timetable for a full withdrawal was actively being discussed in Canberra and Baghdad with senior military and government figures, in line with a US drawdown currently underway. The Iraqi parliament has demanded all foreign forces leave this year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson labelled the latest Taji attack as “deplorable”.
“Our servicemen and women work tirelessly every day to uphold security and stability in the region – their presence makes us all safer,” he said.
Originally published as Australian Defence Force’s Camp Taji in Iraq hit by a barrage of rockets