Three rockets landed on a military base hosting US forces north of Baghdad late on Monday, an Iraqi military statement said, without providing further details.
A military source earlier said two mortar shells had landed in the Iraqi section of the sprawling Taji base, located about 30 km (18 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, and another outside it.
No casualties were caused by the shelling, the source said. He said sirens wailed in the US section of the base during the incident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
It came amid heightened tension in the region between the United States and Iran that has also played out on Iraqi territory.
US officials said last month there was an increased threat from Iran-backed militias against US interests in Iraq, and the US embassy in Baghdad evacuated hundreds of staff.
Washington and Tehran have both said they do not want conflict, but analysts warn that incidents including by what they call “rogue elements” within Iran-backed armed groups could lead to a wider escalation.
Islamic State is also active in areas around Taji and in northern and western Iraq and has carried out dozens of attacks on security forces in recent months.
Iraq pushes US for ‘calm’ after Gulf tanker attacks
Iraqi premier Adel Abdel Mahdi pushed for “calm” in a Friday phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as tensions spiked between Washington and Tehran over tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.
The call came after US President Donald Trump accused Iran of being behind Thursday’s attacks on two oil tankers, the latest episode of worsening ties between Baghdad’s two closest allies.
According to Abdel Mahdi’s office, Pompeo phoned the Iraqi prime minister and discussed “the crisis between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Abdel Mahdi told Washington’s top diplomat that Iraq was “striving for calm.”
The prime minister has suggested Iraq as a potential mediator between the United States and Iran, but his offers have borne little fruit.
Thursday’s twin attacks on two vessels after they passed through the Strait of Hormuz — which Trump said had Iran “written all over it” — have raised fears of conflict in the strategically vital waterway.
Iran has denied involvement and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US of seeking to “sabotage diplomacy”.
Iraq condemned the attacks but did not accuse any country of perpetrating them.
Abdel Mahdi earlier this week warned of the dangers of war.
https://thearabweekly.com/rockets-hit-iraqi-base-hosting-us-forces
Global News 
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