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US-Led Coalition Confirms Rockets Landed in Iraqi Base Hosting Its Forces

© AP Photo / Karim KadimIraqi security forces participate in a drill as U.S. forces help train them in Taji, north of Baghdad, Iraq.
Iraqi security forces participate in a drill as U.S. forces help train them in Taji, north of Baghdad, Iraq. - Sputnik International
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria confirmed to Sputnik on Tuesday that rockets recently landed inside an Iraqi military base that hosts American and partner forces, but said no soldiers were killed or wounded in the incident.

"Indirect fire landed within the perimeter of Camp Taji, Iraq, June 17. There were no coalition or partner force casualties," a spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

The remark comes after the Iraqi military said the day before that three rockets landed on Camp Taji base, north of Baghdad. The coalition spokesman noted that Iraqi Security Forces are now investigating the incident. 

The attack on the Iraqi base comes amid escalating tensions in the region due to a standoff between the United States and Iran.

On Monday, acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan announced that the US would send an additional 1,000 soldiers to the Middle East to address air, naval and ground-based threats. Shanahan also said the United States was not seeking a conflict with Iran and the additional forces were being sent to protect US interests and personnel in the region.

The Pentagon has been stepping up the US military presence in the region since May, in what National Security Adviser John Bolton described as a clear message to Iran.

Relations between the US and Iran have become increasingly hostile since last year when the United States unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and began re-imposing sanctions on the Islamic republic.

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