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This aerial photograph taken on March 8, 2023 shows the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, located in Arlington County across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.
CNN
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A U.S. military aircraft fired on a vehicle and killed hostile forces following an attack on U.S. and coalition forces at Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq on Monday evening, a U.S. official said Tuesday. CNN.
It is unclear how many enemies were killed or whether any U.S. personnel were injured in the attack on Al-Asad. Two U.S. officials said the U.S. AC-130 gunship, capable of firing artillery at ground targets, was acting in defense.
As of Monday afternoon, there had been at least 64 attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, including several against Al-Asad forces.
Last week, at least 56 U.S. troops suffered minor injuries in attacks since Oct. 17 — at least 25 of them traumatic brain injuries — and all have since returned to duty.
It is unclear whether an AC-130 has been used to respond to attacks in this manner since Oct. 17, although a U.S. official said the United States repeatedly returned fire on hostile forces. The United States also carried out three strikes in Syria in response to continued attacks on American troops.
The United States first carried out a strike against two facilities in Abu Kamal linked to Iranian-backed militias on October 26, then struck a weapons storage center in Maysalun, Deir Ezzor, Syria, used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups on November 8. A few days later, on November 12, the United States carried out further strikes against a training center and a shelter in Syria, near Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively.
Attacks on U.S. and coalition forces began after Hamas’s attack on Israel, and the Pentagon said the United States had successfully deterred any escalation that would spread the conflict outside of Israel. Israel and Gaza, despite continued attacks on American forces.
“Taking Us Back: Does Deterrence Work? We believe that is the case,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters last week. “We have not seen this war develop into a larger regional conflict. We… carried out three different strikes. We responded recently this weekend. And again, we will always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing in the future.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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