Seven mortar bombs hit Al-Balad airbase in Iraq hosting US troops

Al-Balad is located north of Baghdad and was a target of last week's rocket attacks.

(Image used for representational purpose)

At least seven mortar bombs hit Iraq's Al-Balad base hosting US troops on Sunday evening, news agency ANI quoted a report by Sputnik. The origin of the bombs has not been identified yet. Balad is located 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad and was a target of last week's rocket attacks. 

According to some military sources, some Iraqi airmen have been wounded in the attack though a majority of the US airmen stationed at airbase had already left. 

The Iraqi military in a statement did not say who was behind the attack and made no mention of heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. 

On Wednesday (January 8), Iran had attacked multiple locations in Iraq including the al-Asad airbase that hosts US forces, a US official had told Reuters. It was unclear what other sites may have been attacked.

The attack's last week was carried out by Iran in retaliation to the killing of Iranian Army Commander and Quds chief Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport on January 3.

Hours after launching the missiles on Wednesday in a disastrous move, Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard. After much condemnation from the international community, on Saturday the Guards' aerospace commander General Amirali Hajizadeh took full responsibility for striking down the aircraft.

This is a developing story, more details are awaited.