Two days before a historic visit of Pope Francis to Iraq, another incident came to make the situation even more tense. At least ten rockets hit a base housing US troops in the west of the country this morning, killing one civilian (a contractor by profession).
This new attack -they had preceded the last two weeks- recalls the extent to which a pope’s first visit to Iraq is a puzzle at the level of the logistics.
“I will go to Iraq for a pilgrimage,” he said Pope Francis, emphasizing that he wants to meet “a people who have suffered so much, to meet this martyr Church”.
In addition to the health restrictions taken to try to contain a worrying second wave of coronavirus in the country, tensions between the two powers operating in Iraq, Iran and the United States are an additional obstacle to the proper conduct of the papal visit.
Of the ten rockets fired against the Iraqi air base of Ain al-Assad, some fell inside the section where American soldiers and American drones of the International Coalition against the Jihadists are stationed. Western sources and sources in the Iraqi security forces, cited by the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, clarified.
The deceased contractor, whose nationality was not immediately known, suffered a heart attack due to this attack, clarified the same sources.
“Iraqi security forces are conducting an investigation,” Col. Wayne Marotto, a U.S. spokesman for the coalition, added on Twitter, while Washington has regularly blamed pro-Iranian militias for the attacks, which have multiplied in recent weeks.
A source close to the Iraqi security forces said the rockets were fired from a village near Ain al-Assad, a deserted area where gunmen could easily set up launch pads – sometimes on trucks or other vehicles – to launch rockets and launch rockets. quickly.
The Iraqi military said the rockets were “Grad”. They were specifically of the “Arash” type, sources in the western security forces, made in Iran and larger than the rockets used until recently, told the French Agency.
Pope Francis is expected the day after tomorrow, Friday, in Baghdad and Sunday in Arbil, where he will officiate at a stadium full of worshipers.
* The external photo is a file
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