a "security source" inside Al Asad Airbase and a "local official at a nearby town" said that the reports that the Al Asad Airbase were under attack, are false. On January 8, 2020, Iranian media, shortly followed by American media, reported that missiles had been launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the airbase. State TV reported that the operation's name was "Martyr Soleimani" and was in response to the killing head of the IRGC's Quds Force Qasem Soleimani. The IRGC said more than 30 missiles were fired. The Pentagon confirmed that "more than a dozen ballistic missiles were launched from Iran." A defense official said, "10 of the missiles hit Al Asad Airbase, one struck Irbil in northern Iraq and four "failed in flight." In late March 2020, U.S. military deployed Patriot air defence systems in Al Asad Airbase as a precaution against possible further Iranian missile attacks. On January 8, 2023, the defence systems shot down a drone near the base with the U.S.-led coalition said it was part of a training exercise while the Iraqi military sources suggested the drone may have had hostile intent. See also Al-Qa'im Al-Taqaddum Air Base List of United States Marine Corps installations List of United States Military installations in Iraq United States Forces – Iraq Camp Speicher References Installations of the United States Army in Iraq Iraqi Air Force bases United States Marine Corps in the Iraq War Army installations of Iraq Al Asad