Ain al-Assad base...another thorn in the side of Iraq's peace

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[size=52]Ain al-Assad base...another thorn in the side of Iraq's peace[/size]

[size=45]The Joint Operations Command announced the arrest of five people involved in the attack on the Ain al-Assad Air Base in Anbar Governorate.[/size]
[size=45]The command said in a statement that “following the statement issued by the Security Media Cell on August 6, 2024, regarding the attack on the Iraqi Ain al-Assad Air Base in Anbar Governorate, in some of whose sections a number of international coalition advisors are present, and in light of the directives of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to form a joint investigative committee from the relevant security agencies and according to the field data and criminal evidence available to the above committee, and through in-depth legal investigations, listening to witness statements, cross-referencing information and obtaining judicial approvals, five of those involved in this illegal act were arrested, according to original arrest warrants issued by the competent judicial authorities.”[/size]
[size=45]She added, "The various security forces and intelligence agencies will remain at an equal distance from everyone to enforce the law and abide by the constitution and laws in force, keeping the interests, security and protection of great Iraq and its noble people in mind."[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi Security Media Cell announced last Tuesday the details of the attack that targeted the Iraqi Ain al-Assad Air Base (where a number of international coalition advisors are located) in Anbar Governorate yesterday, Monday.[/size]
[size=45]She said in a statement via the “X” platform that the attack was carried out by two missiles launched from a cargo vehicle from inside Haditha district.[/size]
[size=45]In response, the security forces seized the vehicle, a Kia truck, containing 8 missiles out of 10 that were prepared for launch, and it was dismantled under control by engineering processing units.[/size]
[size=45]largest air base[/size]
[size=45]Ain al-Assad Air Base is located in Anbar Governorate, western Iraq, 180 kilometers from the capital, Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]The base was built during the Iran-Iraq war and construction operations carried out by a group of Yugoslav companies continued for seven years, with work completed in 1987, one year before the end of the war between the two countries.[/size]
[size=45]The sprawling base includes a large number of fighter aircraft hangars, two runways for landing and take-off, and numerous facilities including training halls, warehouses, soldiers’ housing, and weapons and ammunition stores covering an area of ​​3 square kilometers. It can accommodate about 5,000 soldiers.[/size]
[size=45]Three squadrons of Iraqi MiG-21 and MiG-25 fighter aircraft were stationed at the base before the US invasion.[/size]
[size=45]The base was built in 1980 and was named Al-Qadisiyah at the time, because its construction came after the famous Battle of Al-Qadisiyah between the Iraqi and Iranian armies. After the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, its name became “Ain Al-Assad.”[/size]
[size=45]It is the largest air base in western Iraq, and was a launching pad for strategic military operations during the US occupation of the country in 2003.[/size]
[size=45]In April 2003, Australian special forces took over the base and handed it over to the US occupation army in May of the same year.[/size]
[size=45]Contemporary American Suburb[/size]
[size=45]Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq is large; after the US invasion of the country, the base included a number of movie theaters, swimming pools, fast-food restaurants, and two internal bus lines.[/size]
[size=45]The base was built in the 1980s for the Iraqi army in the desert about 100 miles west of the capital, Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]But after the US invasion in 2003, Al Asad became one of the largest bases used by US forces – and was quickly converted to the current status quo.[/size]
[size=45]In 2006, BBC correspondent Oliver Poole said: “It’s in the middle of the desert, surrounded on all sides by jungle, sand and rocks… But once you come to the American side, it’s much better planned… They’ve tried in every way to create a modern American suburb.”[/size]
[size=45]The base had such amazing facilities that many in the US forces called it “Camp Cupcake.”[/size]
[size=45]With the US withdrawal from the base in 2009 and 2010, Al-Asad base was handed over to the Iraqis, but it was attacked after the Islamic State group took control of the adjacent Anbar province.[/size]
[size=45]In 2014, as ISIS was encircling the base, BBC correspondent Quentin Somerville was able to enter it via an Iraqi military aircraft, describing it as: “Reminders of the American occupation are everywhere – empty artillery shells, dusty living quarters, uneaten rations strewn across the floor.”[/size]
[size=45]After the United States returned to Iraq to fight ISIS in the same year, the base was secured and rebuilt.[/size]
[size=45]But the American return was with fewer troops, and one pilot said in 2017 that the base no longer offered more than some of the comforts it once did.[/size]
[size=45]On December 26, 2018, US President Trump visited the base, saying, “The men and women stationed at Al Asad played a vital role in the military defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria.”[/size]
[size=45]But he later told reporters that he feared for his wife's safety during the visit, saying: "You can't imagine what we had to go through."[/size]
[size=45]A truce for Ain al-Assad and her sisters[/size]
[size=45]Since last February, the operations of the armed factions against the American forces have stopped, as part of a truce declared by some factions. However, that truce, which ended more than two weeks ago, was extended under pressure from the Iraqi and Iranian governments, according to several sources, for fear of its repercussions on relations between Baghdad and Washington, and for Tehran’s fear of targeting field commanders. Meanwhile, those factions threatened to resume their operations against the American forces and their interests if the Iraqi and American governments failed to announce a schedule for the withdrawal of American forces.[/size]
[size=45]A member of the Iraqi Al-Nujaba Movement announced today, Wednesday, that the truce between the armed factions and the American forces has ended.[/size]
[size=45]Mahdi Al-Kaabi said during a press interview that the truce between the armed factions of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and the American forces “has ended.”[/size]
[size=45]This movement, which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, announced last February (2024) that it had stopped its attacks against American forces in the country.[/size]
[size=45]Meanwhile, on Monday, two missiles targeted the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar Governorate in western Iraq, wounding “five American personnel and two American contractors,” according to a Pentagon official.[/size]
[size=45]Washington blamed the attack on one of the Iraqi factions loyal to Iran, which had claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks against American forces months ago in support of the Palestinians, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7.[/size]
[size=45]The frequency of these strikes has slowed significantly since the beginning of 2024, but Ain al-Asad has been attacked three times recently. Monday’s attack was preceded by two attacks on July 16 and 25.[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi parliament voted on a non-binding resolution to expel US forces from Iraq in response to the killing of the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qassem Soleimani, along with the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a US airstrike on the walls of the capital Baghdad airport.[/size]
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