Iraq Base Attack: US in Retaliatory Strikes on Iran-Backed Fighters – BBC News

The US has launched retaliatory air strikes against a pro-Iranian militia group in Iraq after a rocket attack killed two of its soldiers.

The strikes targeted five weapons storage facilities across the country, the US defense department said.

Two Americans and a British soldier were killed in Wednesday's rocket attack on the Camp Taji military base.

The Iraqi military says three soldiers, two policemen and a civilian were killed in the US counter-strikes.

It said the US had carried out "a blatant attack" on Iraqi military sites in Babil province and an airport under construction in Karbala province. It also said the headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation (PM) forces - an umbrella militia which is officially part of the Iraqi security forces - had been hit.

Earlier, a US commander said Kataib Hezbollah - one of the most powerful groups in the PM - was likely to have fired the rockets…

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Iron Dome Could Intercept Those Rockets in Iraq, but it Doesn’t Fit Army’s ‘Grand Plan’ by Kyle Rempfer – Army Times

The urgent need to protect troops against air and missile threats was highlighted once again this week after two Americans and one Briton were killed by a volley of Katyusha rockets at Camp Taji, Iraq.

Although a capability exists to curtail such attacks, the Army has concerns about using it, a stance that’s frustrating lawmakers.

The service already purchased two Iron Dome systems from Israel that have been able to intercept Katyusha rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, but those systems won’t be fielded until the end of the year. Even then, soldiers will need to be trained up on the equipment, Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler, who leads Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said Thursday at the Pentagon.

“We know that Iron Dome has a combat-proven capability,” Karbler told Army Times when asked whether it could’ve intercepted the March 11 rocket attack on Camp Taji. “I’ve got to assume that it would have worked, given it was in the optimal state of readiness as well as positioned to defend that particular asset.”

Army leaders say there are problems with how Iron Dome will fit into their vision of a future array of integrated missile defenses. Unlike other equipment, Iron Dome can’t share targeting information with existing radars and launchers, military officials say…

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