Iran claims killing 80 'US terrorists'
Tehran: Iranian state television on Wednesday said at least 80 "American terrorists" were killed in attacks involving 15 missiles Tehran launched on US targets in Iraq, adding that none of the missiles were intercepted.
A sprawling air base in western Iraq that hosted President Donald Trump during his first visit to a combat zone as commander in chief was one of the two military installations that came under the ballistic missile attack.
The state TV, citing a senior Revolutionary Guards source, also said Iran had 100 other targets in the region in its sights if Washington took any retaliatory measures.
It also said US helicopters and military equipment were "severely damaged".
Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
It was Iran's most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the US Embassy in Tehran, and Iranian state TV said it was in revenge for the US killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen Qassem Soleimani, whose death last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying.
US and Iraqi officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties, though buildings were still being searched.
"We received an official verbal message from the Islamic Republic of Iran that the Iranian response to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani had begun or would begin shortly, and that the strike would be limited to where the US military was located in Iraq without specifying the locations," Iraq's Prime Minister's Office said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the attack by Iran on military bases in Iraq housing western troops in retaliation for the US killing of the Iranian general.
While the Syrian government is expressing full solidarity with Iran, saying Tehran has the right to defend itself 'in the face of American threats and attacks.'