Exclusive: US Base in Iraq Hit by Iranian Fragmentation Missiles
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Tasnim News Agency has learned that Iran used sophisticated missiles with fragmentation warheads in an attack on the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Iraq early Wednesday.
According to information obtained by Tasnim, the US missile defense systems in Iraq have failed to intercept any missile that the IRGC Aerospace Force rained down on Ain al-Assad airbase in Anbar province in western Iraq early Wednesday.
In the Iranian attack, launched in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC Aerospace Force utilized the Fateh-313 and the Qiam missiles, with a range of 500 km and 800 km, respectively.
The Fateh-313 missiles have such a high velocity that the American defense systems have been unable to intercept any of the projectiles.
Moreover, the Qiam missiles fired in the overnight strike have been equipped with radar jamming systems and fragmentation warheads.
This was the first time that Iran has used such advanced missiles in a combat operation.
In June 2017, the IRGC had utilized Qiam for hitting the ISIS targets in Syria, but the missiles launched in that operation had regular warheads as the targets had been packed in a small area.
The fragmentation warhead in each of the Qiam missiles fired in the Wednesday strike have reportedly caused tens of explosions at the American airbase.
Tasnim has also learned that the IRGC has struck only the Ain al-Assad base in the January 8 attack.
Moreover, all of the Iranian missile units had gone on alert at the time of the operation against the US base in Iraq, and the Americans had been also notified that any reaction to the strike would have sparked a very harsh response from Tehran.