'Iran-backed militants' target U.S. troops in Iraq

"Iranian-backed militants" launched ballistic missiles at a base housing U.S. troops in Iraq, causing one Iraqi and possible American casualties, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.  

"At approximately 6:30 p.m. (Baghdad time) time January 20, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were launched by Iranian-backed militants in Western Iraq targeting al-Assad Airbase. A number of U.S. personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries. At least one Iraqi service member was wounded," CENTCOM said in a post on social media. 

Since mid-October, there have been dozens of attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, deployed there to fight jihadists of the Islamic State group.

Most have been claimed by "Islamic Resistance in Iraq," a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that oppose U.S. support for Israel in the Gaza conflict. The group said in a press release on Saturday that it had carried out the latest attack.

The use of ballistic missiles marks an escalation in the attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, who had previously been targeted with lower-tech rockets and drones.

Saturday's air base attack comes amid soaring tensions in the Middle East following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7.

Five members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also killed in a strike on Saturday in Damascus that Tehran blamed on Israel, threatening reprisals.

Washington has on several occasions launched strikes of its own, which it has said were to impede further assaults or to prevent imminent attacks.

According to the Pentagon, dozens of U.S. personnel have been lightly wounded in previous attacks since late October. There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq warned Saturday that Iraq is at risk of being drawn further into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that threatens the security and stability of the region.

"The Middle East is at a critical juncture, with the conflict raging in Gaza and armed action elsewhere threatening a major conflagration," said a statement issued by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

She said that the UN has been focusing on ending the Gaza conflict and avoiding a regional spillover.

"Iraq's stability and security are front and center in all our engagements. We reiterate our appeal to all sides to exercise maximum restraint," the statement added.

(With input from agencies)