Baghdad, December 20: The US base in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk has come under a rocket attack, prompting stepped up security measures in the oil-rich region.
Security sources from the city said a Katusha rocket was fired on Sunday at al-Hurriyah Air Base, which is located south of Kirkuk City.
It was not immediately clear if the attack caused any casualties or damage to the airbase, 250 kilometers (almost 155 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The majority of the 50,000 US military forces in Iraq are stationed in the Kirkuk airbase, which has repeatedly been targeted by unidentified gunmen.
On November 11, two Katusha rockets hit inside the military compound, but there were no reports of casualties in the incident.
Also in early October, Iraqi police discovered a home-made launch pad which had been used to shoot a missile at the US base. They, however, said it was not clear where the projectile landed.
Seven years after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Washington declared an end to its combat operations in the country at the end of August, but left 50,000 troops in the war-torn country to “advise and assist” Iraqi forces.
However, the figure does not take into account the hundreds of private security contractors and mercenaries in the country.
There have been reports of US troops’ engagement in combat operations, while some American soldiers have complained that their being branded as non-combat forces is “a disgrace.”
A full US withdrawal is expected by the end of 2011, according to an agreement between US and Iraqi officials.
——–Agencies