Americans injured in attack on U.S. base in Iraq

Several U.S. personnel members are believed to be injured following a suspected rocket attack on U.S. and coalition forces at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, a defense official confirmed to NBC News.

Additional details are not currently available as base staff are conducting a post-attack damage assessment, according to the official.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the matter, a White House official said.

The attack comes amid growing fears that the Israel-Hamas war will spill over into a wider conflict in the Middle East following assassinations in Beirut and Tehran last week. Israel announced it killed a Hezbollah senior commander in a strike in Lebanon. Hours later, it was reported that Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh had been killed in Iran.

Though Israel’s military has not taken responsibility for Haniyeh’s death, Iranian officials blamed the country for the attack. An Israeli official told NBC News on Sunday that officials were bracing for a potential retaliatory attack from both Hamas and Iran.

State Department spokesman Matt Miller said Monday that Biden was convening his national security team to discuss ways to keep the 10-month siege of the Gaza Strip from becoming a full blown regional conflict.

A source for the attack on the U.S. base in Iraq has not been identified but it is not the first time American personnel have been hurt in the Middle East in recent months. Three American troops were killed in January after an attack on coalition forces at a base in Jordan.

Biden blamed “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” for the attack at the time, responding with retaliatory strikes.

This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates.