​US forces at Taji have come under attack repeatedly this month, resulting in the deaths of several members of the US-led coalition in Iraq. While Washington maintains the attacks were carried out by Kataib Hezbollah, a Shiite militia in Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), at the direction of Iran, Tehran has denied the accusations.

However, following a previous attack on Camp Taji, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a television address that “the Americans assassinated our great commander. We have responded to that terrorist act and will respond to it,” referring to the January assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani by a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

After that attack, which also killed Kataib Hezbollah founder and PMF deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Iraq's parliament asked US forces to leave the country. When Washington refused, mass protests erupted, including one demonstration hailed as a "million man march" in Baghdad on January 24, which was joined by protests in hundreds of cities around the globe.

Reporter’s code: 50101