Iraqi army soldiers, a squad of Islamic State militants attempted to bomb a base in western Iraq where hundreds of United States troops are stationed, raising concerns about whether the Americans will be drawn into direct combat with the extremists.
Iraqi security forces supported by "surveillance assets" from the US-led coalition against the Islamic State killed eight militants who tried to carry out a "direct attack" on the Ayn al-Asad air base in Iraq's Anbar province at 7:20am, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. The men were would-be suicide bombers who sought to enter the base disguised as Iraqi army soldiers, said Sulaiman al-Kubaisi, a spokesman for Anbar's provincial council.
Three of the militants reportedly were able to set off their explosives, before the rest were killed.
The attack came a day after militants took control of most of al-Baghdadi, a town less than seven kilometres from the base, where 320 US service members have been training Iraqi troops and tribal fighters.
US forces were "several kilometres" from the attack and were at no stage under direct threat, the statement said. Still, the targeting of a base hosting US troops underscored the risk that Americans could be drawn into real engagement with the militants.
President Barack Obama has made a formal request for congressional authority to use military force against the Islamic State, a move that critics argue could increase that risk.
The Islamic State has used similar tactics in the past. Iraqi troops welcomed militants disguised in army uniforms onto another base in Anbar province in September, in an attack that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of soldiers.
"We readily admit that al-Anbar is a contested region," Admiral Kirby said earlier Friday in an interview on CNN. "But . . . this is a huge, sprawling base, roughly the size of Boulder, Colorado," and it has "mini-bases inside the big base."
Admiral Kirby said of the US trainers and advisers, "there's no question that they're close to danger." Even though they do not have a ground combat mission, "they have the right to defend themselves," he said. "And should they ever feel under threat, they certainly have the right, the responsibility, the obligation to shoot back."
According to a statement from Anbar's provincial council, about 1000 Islamic State fighters launched Thursday's attack on al-Baghdadi, a strategic location due to its proximity to the Ayn al-Asad base. Major buildings in the town, including the police station and local council building, are in militant hands, according to tribal fighters and local officials.
The capture of al-Baghdadi, which remained under militant control Friday, demonstrates the continued ability of the Islamic State to stay on the attack despite coalition airstrikes and talk of a looming counteroffensive on major cities held by the group, which is also known as ISIS, ISIL and, in Arabic, Daesh. US officials maintain that the militants are largely on the defensive.
"Baghdadi is now under Daesh control," said Raad al-Timimi, a Defence Ministry spokesman, adding that urgent weapons supplies were being sent to the town.
The United States military said its ground forces were not involved in the fighting in Baghdadi but that Anbar remains under "severe threat" by Islamic State fighters. In December, the Pentagon denied local news reports that US forces were involved in direct combat with Islamic State fighters near the base.
While not tasked with combat, US trainers in Iraq are authorised to use force in self-defence. The Authorisation for the Use of Military Force, requested by Mr Obama on Wednesday, would leave flexibility for Special Operations forces to assist local forces, the president said.
