An explosive device exploded as a convoy of the US-led coalition passed by near the Taji base north of Baghdad today, Tuesday, in the fifth such attack in a month.
And the Iraqi army said in a statement that the explosion caused a fire in a container in one of the vehicles, without explaining whether there were any casualties or injuries. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.
This attack comes hours after the Joint Operations Command in Iraq denied that the Jirishan crossing on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border was subjected to sabotage action on Monday evening. The Kuwaiti Army Staff also denied that one of the centers on the country's northern borders had been attacked, and confirmed that the borders are "stable and safe."
The Reuters news agency quoted an Iraqi security source as saying that an explosion occurred near a border crossing between Iraq and Kuwait, as a result of targeting a convoy carrying equipment for US forces.
An Iraqi armed group says it targeted US forces near the "occupied Jericho crossing" on the border with Kuwait. Asaib Ahl al-Haq said two months ago that "the perpetrator is occupied by America," calling on Al-Kazemi to control it. pic.twitter.com/MG93CI68HT
- ZaidBenjamin Zaid Benjamin (@ ZaidBenjamin5) August 10, 2020
An unknown Iraqi Shiite armed group calling itself "The Cave Owners" claimed responsibility for the attack, and published a video clip showing the explosion from a distance.
That group said that it managed to destroy American military equipment and large parts of the crossing, while the US embassy in Kuwait confirmed that it was investigating the matter.
The most violent attack occurred on July 11, when unidentified gunmen set fire to three trucks carrying logistical equipment and military vehicles, including Hummer vehicles, for the benefit of the US forces and the International Coalition in Diwaniyah Governorate (south of the country).
Armed Shiite factions, including the Iraqi "Hezbollah" Brigades, had threatened to target US forces and interests in Iraq, if they did not withdraw in compliance with the parliament’s decision to end the military presence in the country.
On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted by a majority to end the foreign military presence, days after the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, was killed, accompanied by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Authority, in an American air strike near Baghdad International Airport.
The United States accuses the "Hezbollah" Brigades and Iraqi armed factions close to Iran of being behind the repeated missile attacks targeting its embassy in the "Green Zone" and its military bases where its soldiers are deployed alongside other international coalition forces in Iraq.