US fires on and kills hostile forces after attack in Iraq, US official says

A US military aircraft fired on a vehicle and killed hostile forces following an attack on US and coalition forces at Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq on Monday evening, a US official told CNN on Tuesday.

It’s unclear how many hostiles were killed and whether US personnel were injured in the attack on Al-Asad. Two US officials said the US AC-130 gunship, which is capable of firing artillery at ground-based targets, was acting in defense.

As of Monday afternoon, there had been at least 64 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, including several on forces at Al-Asad.

As of last week, at least 56 US troops had sustained minor injuries in the attacks since October 17 — at least 25 of them being traumatic brain injuries — and all had since returned to duty.

It’s unclear if an AC-130 has been used to respond to attacks in this way since October 17, though a US official said the US has returned fire on hostile forces multiple times. The US has also carried out three strikes in Syria in response to the continuous attacks on US troops.

The US first carried out a strike on two facilities in Abu Kamal linked to Iranian-backed militias on October 26, then struck a weapons storage facility in Maysalun in Deir Ezzor, Syria, used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups on November 8. Days later on November 12, The US carried out more strikes on a training facility and safe house in Syria near Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively.

The attacks on US and coalition forces started after Hamas’ attack on Israel, and the Pentagon has maintained that the US has been successful in deterring any escalatory actions that would expand the conflict outside of Israel and Gaza despite the continued attacks on US forces.

“Taking us back — is deterrence working? We feel that it is,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters last week. “We have not seen this war spread into a wider regional conflict. We have … conducted three different strikes. We responded most recently this weekend. And again, we will always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing in the future.”

This story is breaking and will be updated.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com