The United States will not tolerate attacks on American troops in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday, as quoted by the AFP news agency.
His comments came after a rocket attack on the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq, which houses US troops, wounded seven US personnel.
"Make no mistake, the United States will not tolerate attacks on our personnel in the region," Austin told a news conference in Annapolis.
A US defense official said earlier in the day that the attack wounded five American military personnel and two contractors, all of whom are in stable condition.
Monday’s attack marked the third time in recent weeks that the base has come under attack, but the first time that any injuries have been reported.
In late July, multiple rockets were launched at Ain al-Asad airbase. No damage or casualties were reported. Two US officials said the base itself had not been struck in the attack.
The Ain al-Asad base had come under attack by two armed drones the previous week as well, but that attack was the first one against US forces in Iraq since early February, when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq announced they would stop their attacks against US troops.
A Pentagon statement following a call between Austin and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday described the rocket fire as an "Iran-aligned militia attack on US forces" and said the two agreed that it "marked a dangerous escalation."