U.S. Military base in Iraq bombed: Soldiers wounded

The attack came days after a US strike that killed pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters.

"There was, as it is believed, a missile attack on the American forces of the anti-extremist coalition, on the Ain Al Asad air base in Iraq. According to the first indications, there are more wounded among the American personnel," said the spokesman.

Earlier yesterday, Iraqi sources reported that rockets were fired at the same base, which is in Al Anbar province.

Some missiles fell inside the base, said one military source who did not want to be named.

The commander of a pro-Iranian armed group told AFP that at least two missiles targeted the base but did not say who was behind the attack.

Another source, who did not want to be named, confirmed that the attack had happened.

Such attacks were common at the beginning of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but their number has since decreased significantly.

The latest missile attack comes amid growing fears of an attack by Iran and its allies on Israel and a widening conflict in the Middle East, following the recent killings of senior Palestinian Islamist Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah officials, either attributed to or claimed by Israel.

Iran and Hezbollah have vowed retaliation for the killings.

Last Tuesday, the Americans targeted pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters who were trying to launch combat drones that pose a threat to US and anti-extremist coalition forces in the region, a US military official said.

The strike, which according to Iraqi sources killed four, was the first carried out by US forces in Iraq since February.

In two recent attacks, on July 16 and 25, bases of American soldiers or their allies in Iraq were hit. Before that, there had been no attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria since April.

The attacks used to be much more frequent, with more than 175 in the first months of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.