At least five rockets slam into Iraq airbase housing US troops: Attack comes weeks after American contractor was killed in missile strike on another airbase

 At least five rockets hit an Iraqi air base housing US troops north of Baghdad on Monday, the Iraqi military said.

There were no injuries or damage caused by the evening attack on Al-Balad, which is the latest in a string of attacks Washington routinely blames on Iran-linked factions.

The Iraqi military said two additional rockets fell outside Al-Balad and caused damage to a civilian house, with no casualties reported. 

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At least five rockets hit an Iraqi air base housing US troops north of Baghdad on Monday, the Iraqi military said. There were no injuries or damage caused by the evening attack on Al-Balad (pictured), which is the latest in a string of attacks Washington routinely blames on Iran-linked factions [File photo]

AFP news agency, citing a security source, reported that the rockets were fired from a separate village in the neighbouring province of Diyala, east of the base.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. 

There have been several such attacks in recent weeks targeting locations where US forces operate in Iraq and the border region with Syria.

On March 3, an American sub-contractor died after suffering a heart attack during a similar attack against another airbase, Ain Al-Assad, in Iraq's western desert. 

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That came just days after the US bombed a border depot in neighbouring Syria which the Pentagon said was used by an Iran-backed Iraqi armed militia that has been tied to the rocket attacks. Twenty-two people were killed, according to a war monitor. 

US President Joe Biden described the February 25 raid as a 'warning' to Iran.

Dozens of rocket attacks and roadside bombs targeted Western security, military and diplomatic sites in Iraq in 2020, blamed by Iraqi and Western military sources on hardline pro-Iran factions.

The attacks had come to a near-complete halt in October following a truce with the hardliners, but have since resumed.    

Iran-aligned paramilitary groups have demanded that all foreign troops, including U.S. forces who number around 2,500 in Iraq, leave the country, calling their presence an occupation.

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On March 3, an American sub-contractor died after suffering a heart attack during a similar attack against another airbase, Ain Al-Assad, in Iraq's western desert.  Pictures circulating on social media purportedly show the burnt out truck that was used to launch the attack [File photo]

A U.S.-led coalition, whose mission is to fight Islamic State militants, is still stationed in Iraq, as well as a NATO-led mission that trains Iraqi security forces. 

Heightened tensions between the US and Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq could lead to more attacks, complicating the Biden administration's desire to open talks with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal, as well as the ongoing US strategy to focus more attention on Asia. 

Tensions between the US and Iran have been escalating in recent years, particularly during former president Donald Trump's four years in the White House, and were exacerbated by the US assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last year.