European countries condemn attack on US base in Iraq • Estimate: Pro-Iranian militias are behind the operation
In the photo: American soldiers in the city of Mosul in Iraq
Photo:
American naval force
The governments of Germany, France, Britain, Italy and the United States today (Wednesday) issued a joint harsh condemnation of the missile attack carried out on Tuesday at the US Air Force base near the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The joint statement, issued by the foreign ministries of the five Western governments that are members of the international coalition in Iraq, said the Western governments would support an investigation by the Iraqi government to identify and prosecute the perpetrators.
"We are united in our position that we must not tolerate attacks on US teams or facilities or on coalition forces in Iraq," the statement said.
It is estimated that pro-Iranian forces are behind the missile attack, in which a local worker was killed and at least eight people - most of them civilians - were injured. The attacked US base is located near the Irbil International Airport, the main airport in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. The missiles were launched from the area of the city of Kirkuk, which is outside Kurdish control.