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Iraqi airbase used by Marines attacked after Islamic State takes over nearby town
The Islamic State group launched an attack Thursday on an Iraqi airbase used by U.S. Marines after largely taking control of a nearby town.
Ain al-Asad air base came under attack from Sunni radicals operating outside of al-Baghdadi. The town, which is roughly 50 miles northwest of Ramadi in Anbar province, was itself subjected to a two-pronged attack earlier in the day, Reuters reported.
Roughly 300 Marines working in the area are training security forces for Iraq's 7th Division.
"Ninety percent of al-Baghdadi district has fallen under the control of the insurgents," district manager Naji Arak told Reuters by phone.
Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Commander Elissa Smith confirmed the attack to Reuters, saying "There were reports of ineffective indirect fire in the vicinity of the base."
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The Islamic State group launched an attack Thursday on an Iraqi airbase used by U.S. Marines after largely taking control of a nearby town.
Ain al-Asad air base came under attack from Sunni radicals operating outside of al-Baghdadi. The town, which is roughly 50 miles northwest of Ramadi in Anbar province, was itself subjected to a two-pronged attack earlier in the day, Reuters reported.
Roughly 300 Marines working in the area are training security forces for Iraq's 7th Division.
"Ninety percent of al-Baghdadi district has fallen under the control of the insurgents," district manager Naji Arak told Reuters by phone.
Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Commander Elissa Smith confirmed the attack to Reuters, saying "There were reports of ineffective indirect fire in the vicinity of the base."
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
