The coalition fighting "Islamic State" militants in Iraq has confirmed that three of its personnel had been killed in a rocket attack on a military camp in Iraq. About a dozen additional personnel were wounded.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Mohammed
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Two US soldiers and a British soldier were killed on Wednesday in the deadliest rocket attack in years on an Iraqi military base hosting foreign troops.
A statement from the US-led coalition in Iraq said approximately 18 Katyusha rockets struck the Taji military camp north of Baghdad.
"The attack is under investigation by the Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces," the statement said.
US officials said that, of the 12 injured, five service members were seriously wounded and evacuated from the camp. There was a possibility of the death toll rising because of the severity of the injuries sustained by some personnel.
Iraq’s presidency has condemned the attack on the military camp, calling for an investigation into the attack. In a statement, the presidency added, “This aggression targets Iraq’s security.”
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US and UK say attack 'won't be tolerated'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also condemned the attack in a statement.
“We will continue to liaise with our international partners to fully understand the details of this abhorrent attack,” Johnson said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted, "Today’s deadly attack on Iraq’s Camp Taji military base will not be tolerated."
He confirmed that he had liaised with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
While officials maintain that it is too early to assign blame, any speculation that Iran-backed militia was involved in the attack may lead to an escalation of tensions between the US and Iran.
Early this year, a US drone strike killed Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at an Iraqi base that was hosting US forces. Over 100 military personnel were injured in the attack.
In a bid to avoid further escalation, the US Congress on Wednesday approved a measure that would prevent President Donald Trump from taking military action against Iran without a vote from Congress.
Trump, however, is likely to veto the resolution.
Iraq: Where water used to flow
The Mesopotamian marshlands in southern Iraq were once the largest wetland ecosystem in Western Eurasia. But after years of drought and political turmoil, they're in danger of disappearing.
Image: John Wreford
A parched land
The Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq are a rare area of wetland in a sea of desert, and are fed by the waters of the Tigris-Euphrates river system. Drought is often an issue in Iraq but a lack of rainfall, internal political strife and the damming of rivers further upstream in Turkey have combined to make the current situation even more dire.
Image: John Wreford
Food remains scarce
Buffalo struggle to find enough to eat in the parched landscape of the Central Marshes near the town of Al-Chibayish. Temperatures in this part of Iraq can often rise above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in summer and climate change is already taking its toll. Drought is becoming more frequent, leading to increased desertification and the reduction of fertile ground.
Image: John Wreford
Keeping a unique culture alive
The Marsh Arabs — also known as the Ma'dan — are comprised of many different tribes. They have developed a unique culture that relies entirely on the diversity of the marshlands they inhabit. For centuries, subsistence farming of water buffalo and fishing have been the mainstays of their survival.
Image: John Wreford
Supporting the local economy
Umm Hassan makes buffalo cream at home which she sells to others in the area. The local economy revolves around the wetlands. The milk is delivered by boat from the buffalo herders, but as the buffalo struggle to find suitable grazing, the yield is falling.
Image: John Wreford
Poisoned earth
A traditional Marsh Arab boat sits on the cracked and dry earth of the Central Marshes. Considered by many to be the location of the biblical Garden of Eden, the marshes once covered over 15,000 square kilometers. During the 1991 Shia uprisings in Iraq, then-president Saddam Hussein drained and poisoned the marshes, driving most of the population into the already overcrowded cities.
Image: John Wreford
A victim of drought
The corpse of a dead water buffalo dumped along a track away from the water of the marshes. Water buffalo have been kept in the marshes since the Sumerian Dynasty. The Sumerians' developments in agriculture, irrigation and the domestication of animals is in part the reason Mesopotamia is known today as the Cradle of Civilization.
Image: John Wreford
A meager catch
Hiba, Zeinab and Hassan sort through their catch of fish. Because of low water levels, the size and quantity of fish is small. The Marsh Arabs once used spears for fishing, but now some are resorting to the illegal use of high voltage electric generators. Many fish species have already completely disappeared from this wetland ecosystem.
Image: John Wreford
Looking after the herd
A young Marsh Arab boy looks after his family's herd of water buffalo in the Hammar Marshes. The family has a herd of around 15, but have lost several to malnutrition and disease. Traditionally the buffalo would leave at sunrise to feed in the marshes and return at sunset. It is now common for them to return before midday, still unfed.
