BAGHDAD, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. forces were attacked at an airbase west of Baghdad early on Tuesday and a U.S. military aircraft responded in self-defence, U.S. officials said, in the first U.S. retaliation on Iraqi territory to dozens of recent militant drone and missile attacks.
Ain al-Asad airbase was attacked by a close-range ballistic missile which resulted in eight injuries and minor damage to infrastructure, two U.S. officials said.
The U.S. had so far limited its response to numerous recent attacks against its forces in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, claimed by Iran-aligned Iraqi militia groups, to three separate sets of strikes in Syria.
U.S. and international forces that make up the global coalition to fight the remnants of Islamic State have been targeted more than 60 times in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17, U.S. officials say.
Dozens of U.S. servicemen suffered minor injuries in the attacks but have all returned to duty, U.S. officials say.
Persons:
Asad, Timour Azhari, Phil Stewart, Ali Idrees, Andrew Heavens, Alexandra Hudson
Organizations:
U.S, Israel, Hamas, Washington, Hezbollah, Thomson
Locations:
BAGHDAD, Baghdad, U.S, Ain, Iranian, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Gaza, Israel, State, Washington