Roadside bomb hits U.S.-led coalition trucks in southern Iraq

Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 02:00:21|Editor: huaxia

BAGHDAD, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A roadside bomb struck a convoy of trucks carrying logistical equipment belonging to the U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Iraq, the Iraqi military said Sunday.

The attack took place on the international road in Dhi Qar Province, causing minor damage to one of the vehicles, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement without revealing the exact timing of the attack.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but unidentified militant groups have frequently targeted U.S.-led coalition convoys, which usually travel from neighboring Kuwait to the coalition bases in central and northern Iraq.

The attacks came as the Iraqi-U.S. relations have witnessed a tension since Jan. 3 when a U.S. drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, which killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.

More than 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against the Islamic State militants, mainly providing training and advising to the Iraqi forces.

The troops were part of the U.S.-led coalition that has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria. Enditem

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