On Wednesday, March 3, two days before Pope Francis’ historic visit to Iraq, a dozen rockets landed at the Ain al-Assad air base in the western Al-Anbar desert.

Iraqi and Western security sources said many of them had fallen into the area where US troops and drones belonging to the International Anti-Jihadi Alliance were stationed. The sources said that a civilian subcontractor died of a heart attack following the attack.

The Iraqi military command reported that the type was grade, more precisely the type Arsh, detailed Western security sources, Iranian-made, larger than rockets used until recently. “Iraqi security forces are investigating”US coalition spokesman Colonel Wayne Maroto took to Twitter to point out that Washington regularly points out pro-Iranian militias.

A series of attacks on American bases

This latest attack follows others who have been using the same modus operandi for the past two weeks. It reminds us that the first visit of a sovereign pond to Iraq was a logistic headache. In mid-February, a civilian officer at the base was killed and an American soldier was wounded in a rocket attack on a U.S. commando force in northern Iraq. Ten days later, US President Joe Biden issued the order Airstrikes in eastern Syria The Pentagon has said in response to a rocket attack on US interests in Iraq that it will not provide facilities for Iranian – backed militias.

The sworn enemies, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, have a presence or allies in Iraq. The United States has been at the forefront of the Islamic State (IS) war front, deploying some 2,500 troops there.

The pope does not change his program

“I will go to Iraq for a pilgrimage”After all, Pope Francis announced his traditional Wednesday after the audience, saying he wanted to “To meet a people who have suffered so much, to see this martyred church”. The pope is expected in Baghdad on Friday and in Erbil on Sunday, where a stadium will be filled with faithful celebrating in droves. He has no planned stopover in the western desert of the country, but the north will pass through the former jihadi stronghold of Mosul, where several factions are now deployed, especially Hutch al-Chabi.

Because of security stability and the Kovid-19 pandemic, Argentina’s sovereign Pontif will lose the crowd he loves. In addition, to avoid the worst conditions, national imprisonment will be imposed throughout the Pope’s visit from Friday to Monday.