CRISIS DEEPENS: Americans injured after US base Ain-al-Asad in Iraq is hit by missiles as Middle East tinderbox threatens to explode

AMERICANS have been injured after missiles hit an Iraqi air base that houses US forces in an attack which threatens to ramp up already red-hot tensions in the Middle East.

Two Soviet-made Katyusha rockets were blasted towards the base in western Iraq with one plummeting down inside the base itself and injuring US personnel, security sources confirmed.

A pro-Iranian commander told AFP at least “two rockets targeted” the base which is also used to station a number of other international troops.

Several US personnel were injured in the blasts, a source told Reuters.

“Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” one of the officials added.

Concerns in the region are mounting following last week’s killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

It is unclear who officials believe carried out the attack, but Iranian proxies in the Middle East are known to target US controlled areas when tensions reach boiling point.

In April, another US military base in Syria was struck by rockets in a Iraqi drone strike.

Earlier this week, the US deployed a fleet of warships and fighter jets to the Middle East amid fears of an attack from Iran in response to recent Israeli blasts.

Officials in America, Israel’s most powerful ally, expect a retaliatory April 13th-style attack from Iran which could hit in the next few days.

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