<p>Anbar, Iraq: A US air strike on a rocket launcher late on Monday foiled an attack on Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq, two Iraqi army sources said.</p><p>Iraqi military sources said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a small truck had been parked in a rural area about 7 km (4 miles) to the east of the base, with at least two rockets ready to be fired towards Ain al-Asad.</p><p>The US air strike destroyed the launcher, an army official said.</p>.Armed drone targets US base in northern Iraq.<p>US-led coalition officials were not immediately available to comment on the strike.</p><p>The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in neighbouring Iraq and says their mission is to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both countries but was later pushed back.</p><p>Since the Israel-Hamas war began last October, the U.S. military has come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria, usually with a mix of rockets and attack drones.</p><p>Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel's campaign in Gaza and hold the US partly responsible. </p>
<p>Anbar, Iraq: A US air strike on a rocket launcher late on Monday foiled an attack on Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq, two Iraqi army sources said.</p><p>Iraqi military sources said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a small truck had been parked in a rural area about 7 km (4 miles) to the east of the base, with at least two rockets ready to be fired towards Ain al-Asad.</p><p>The US air strike destroyed the launcher, an army official said.</p>.Armed drone targets US base in northern Iraq.<p>US-led coalition officials were not immediately available to comment on the strike.</p><p>The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 more in neighbouring Iraq and says their mission is to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swathes of both countries but was later pushed back.</p><p>Since the Israel-Hamas war began last October, the U.S. military has come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria, usually with a mix of rockets and attack drones.</p><p>Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel's campaign in Gaza and hold the US partly responsible. </p>