White House affirms serious response to Iranian-backed faction attack on Ain al-Assad

Shafaq News / The White House confirmed on Sunday that the United States is dealing "very seriously" with the attack launched by Iran-backed factions on Saturday on the Ain al-Assad base in western Al-Anbar governorate.

The US military announced on Saturday that Iran-backed factions had launched "several ballistic missiles" at the Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq, resulting in one Iraqi injury and potential injuries to US forces.

In this regard, Deputy National Security Advisor at the White House, John Finer, stated, "It was an extremely serious attack, using ballistic missiles that posed a real threat," adding, "We will respond by establishing deterrence in similar situations and holding accountable these groups that continue to attack us, and you can be sure that we are dealing with this matter very seriously."

Since mid-October, dozens of attacks have targeted around 2,500 US military personnel in Iraq and approximately 900 deployed in Syria, along with other forces from the Global Coalition.

The "Islamic Resistance in Iraq", an alliance of armed factions linked to Iran that opposes US support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, claimed responsibility for most of the attacks, including Saturday's assault.

The use of ballistic missiles represents an escalation in the attacks that previously utilized low-tech missiles and drones.

The attack on the airbase on Saturday occurred amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7th.