BAGHDAD, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Islamic State militants wearing Iraqi Army uniforms infiltrated an airbase where more than 300 U.S. Marines are stationed to train Iraqi soldiers.
Eight IS insurgents attacked the facility on the Ayn al Asad Airbase, the second-largest U.S. military airbase in Iraq. The fighters were killed, and no U.S. service members were injured, officials said
"About 7:20 a.m. (Iraqi time, Friday Feb. 13) a small Daesh element attacked an Iraqi Army facility on the Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province," the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said in a written statement. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the terrorist group.
"The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) supported by coalition surveillance assets, defeated the attack, killing all eight attackers. The ISF have since re-secured their facility."
Sean Ryan, chief of foreign affairs for the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq, said the attackers never got near the American forces.
It's not clear how the militants got onto the airbase, which is surrounded by barbed wire, watch towers and a bridged entrance. It has come under continued attack in the past few days as IS militants close in. There have been no reports of damage.
Also on Friday, IS fighters seized the western Iraqi town of al Baghdadi, which is about 9 miles from the Ayn al Asad Airbase and northwest of Baghdad, security officials told CNN.
The officials said the fighters who attacked the air base came from the direction of al Baghdadi.
