Iran's ballistic missiles attack targeting two military bases in Iraq that house US and coalition forces was intended to kill Americans, Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) Iran's ballistic missiles attack targeting two military bases in Iraq that house US and coalition forces was intended to kill Americans, Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview on Thursday.
"The ballistic missiles fired at American bases at Al Asad and Erbil, we believe were intended to kill Americans. We have intelligence to support that that was the intention of the Iranians," Pence told NBC news.
Pence credited the safety of US and coalition forces, which emerged from the attack unscathed, to "the excellent work of our military personnel on the ground ... and our intelligence."
Pence was pushing back against reports - including one claiming that Iran notified the government of Iraq of the pending strikes two hours in advance of the strike - that Iran deliberately avoided killing US personnel in an attempt to de-escalate tensions with the United States.
Iraq fired more than 20 missiles at the two US targets in retaliation for last week's assassination of Iranian top commander Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike near Baghdad's international airport.
