Iran attacks US forces in Iraq, fires ballistic missiles

Iran : Iran on Wednesday fired ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases used by the US military, officials in Washington and Tehran said. This is the first act probably under the revenge promise for the US killing of a top Iranian general.

The Pentagon said it was still "working on initial battle damage assessments" after "Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq."

"It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran and targeted at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US military and coalition personnel at Al-Assad and Irbil," the Pentagon said.

No immediate reports of casualties were received in the attack. Pentagon had earlier presumed attack on these military bases and they were on high alert. 

"These bases have been on high alert due to indications that the Iranian regime planned to attack our forces and interests in the region," a spokesman said.

Iranian state television reported an attack on one base housing US personnel, saying it was in response to Friday's killing in a US drone strike of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, one of the most important figures in the country's government.

The White House said that the US President Donald Trump was monitoring the situation closely and was in direct consultation with the national security team. 

Oil prices immediately jumped on the news, with the benchmark WTI spiking more than 4.5 percent to $65.54 a barrel before receding slightly.