As American forces work to clean up the base in Iraq that was attacked by Iranian ballistic missile strikes, photos were released that show the extent of the damage.
Although no troops were killed or seriously wounded, the missiles that were launched by Iran at Ain al Asad base Wednesday resulted in destroyed buildings, impact craters, and burned-out facilities.
The attack came as a direct retaliation from Iran after the United States killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike. Iran lobbed more than a dozen short-range ballistic missiles at Al Asad and a base in Irbil, Iraq, that houses American troops.
Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that Iran intended to “kill personnel,” but defense systems allowed for “a little bit of early warning” before the missiles struck.
“I believe, based on what I saw and what I know, is that they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and equipment and aircraft, and to kill personnel,” Milley said.
Vice President Mike Pence also said that he believed the intention of the attack was to kill Americans.
American troops at the air base reportedly knew that an Iranian attack was coming 2 1/2 hours before missiles struck the base and were either flown out of Al Asad or were sheltering in bunkers by 11 p.m. before the missiles began to rain down.
