ISIS Fighters Attack Base Wearing Iraqi Army Uniforms

ISIS Fighters Sneak Into Iraqi Base Wearing Iraqi Army Uniforms

Eight ISIS fighters wearing Iraqi Army uniforms infiltrated Al Asad airbase, the sprawling western Iraqi base where 300 American forces are training Iraqi troops, and attacked a facility on the base, officials said.

The ISIS fighters were killed as Iraqi forces repelled the attack. No U.S. military service members were affected by the attack. A statement released by Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve confirmed the attack.

Anbar province,” read the statement.

Daesh is the pronunciation of ISIS in Arabic.

"The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) supported by Coalition surveillance assets defeated the attack, killing all eight attackers. The ISF have since re-secured their facility.”



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The statement made clear that U.S. personnel on the base “were several kilometers from the attack and at no stage were they under direct threat from this action.”

A U.S. official told ABC News that initial indications are that the ISIS fighters had infiltrated the base wearing Iraqi Army uniforms. The official said the ISIS fighters attacked an Iraqi army headquarters on the base where senior Iraqi leaders were present at the time of the attack.

Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and several more were wounded as they repelled the attack inside the base.

ISIS controls major parts of Anbar Province in western Iraq where Al Asad airbase is located. The U.S. military is using the large 25-square mile base as a training facility to train Iraqi troops and assist with Iraqi training of Sunni tribesmen to fight against ISIS.

For several months the base has been a frequent target of ISIS mortar fire, though U.S. military officials say it is ineffective because the fire is not targeted.

U.S. officials also say that Iraqi troops were also making progress in clearing ISIS fighters from the nearby town of al Baghdadi, close to the Al Asad airbase.

On Thursday, ISIS fighters who had been besieging the town for months were able to make into the town and take over the local Iraqi police station. Also Thursday a U.S. military spokesperson confirmed that “there has been heavy fighting in the al Baghdadi area” -- but directed specific questions about what was going on there to the Iraqis.

The spokesperson also said “there was no direct attack on the Al Asad airbase” though there had been reports of ineffective mortar fire near the base.

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