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Trump authorises US military to respond to deadly attack on Iraqi base

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President Donald Trump authorised the US military to respond to a rocket attack that killed two American troops and a British service member at an Iraqi base for international coalition forces.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Thursday that they have been authorised to respond to the deadly attack.

“I have spoken with the president. He’s given me the authority to do what we need to do, consistent with his guidance,” Esper told reporters.

In addition to the three deaths, more than a dozen others were hurt in Wednesday’s multiple-rocket attack, at least five of whom were “urgently” wounded, Milley said.

The two military leaders said they believe Iran-backed fighters carried out the strike, which hit Iraq’s Camp Taji base north of Baghdad, but both men stopped short of identifying any specific group.

While no group has taken responsibility for the attack, the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia has in the past carried out some of the rocket strikes on US forces that have taken place amid heightened tensions in the region.

Esper and Milley warned that all options were on the table in terms of a US response. When asked if that could include strikes inside Iran, Esper hinted that strikes against those immediately responsible were the priority.

“I’m not going to take any option off the table right now, but we are focused on the group – groups – that we believe perpetrated this in Iraq, as the immediate [focus],” Esper said.

‘We have got to hold the perpetrators accountable’
Trump told reporters at the White House it was not “fully determined it was Iran” and declined to say what the United States might do, Reuters reported.

“We’ll see what the response is,” Trump said.


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