Iraq Army Fends Off ISIS Fighters in Iraqi Uniforms

US forces were far from attack on airbase
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 14, 2015 3:36 PM CST
Iraq Army Fends Off ISIS Fighters in Iraqi Uniforms
In this Tuesday, Nov. 1 , 2011 file photo, US soldiers begin their journey home at al-Asad airbase, west of Baghdad, Iraq.   (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed, File)

Some 20 to 25 ISIS fighters clad in Iraq Army uniforms descended on an Iraqi base yesterday, but Iraqi forces were able to defeat them, ABC News reports. An ISIS group wearing suicide vests were first to attack the base; CBS News reports that eight suicide bombers made their way onto the base. About 10 to 15 more fighters came afterward. "They were immediately engaged by members of the Iraqi Army, the 7th Infantry of the Iraqi Army, and all were killed," says a Pentagon spokesman. Some 400 US personnel are currently training Iraqi forces at the al-Asad airbase, but they were nowhere near the attack, the spokesman notes. "They might have heard shots being fired, but that would've been about it." ISIS has been shelling the base for days, but no damage has been reported, CBS notes. (More ISIS stories.)

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