This was said to be the first encounter between the United States and the Islamic State, in four years. However, this claim has been stated to be "false" by the Pentagon. The airbase and surrounding region came under repeated attack by Islamic State militants in October 2014. On January 5, 2015 the Pentagon acknowledged that ISIL has been ineffectively mortaring the base. On February 6–7, U.S. Marines and Danish soldiers with Task Force Al Asad taught Iraqi soldiers basic defense and ambush techniques. In February 2015, ISIL took control of most of the town of al-Baghdadi which is close to Al Asad Airbase and began what a Defense Department spokeswoman called "ineffective indirect fire" against Al Asad base. Later, according to CBS News, "Eight suicide bombers managed [on February 13] to get onto [Al Asad] ... but were killed by an ISF counter attack almost immediately." Further, CBS news reported that "ISIL [had] been regularly shelling Ain al-Assad for the past couple days, but there have been no reports of damage from the shelling or the attempted bombing on Friday." In early March, Iraqi forces cleared ISIL out of al-Baghdadi. The airbase continues to be used by coalition forces in Iraq, including British troops. In 2016 it was announced that the UK would send 250 more troops to be stationed at Al Asad base. In February 2018, it was announced that Capt Dean Sprouting had been killed at the base, possibly as a result of an accident. The Captain had been serving with the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. Post-ISIL defeat On December 26, 2018, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Al Asad Airbase. In a speech given there, Trump claimed that the military hadn't gotten a raise in ten years, and that he would be giving them a raise of over 10 percent. However, American military personnel had received a pay hike of at least one percent for the past 30 years, got a 2.4 percent pay increase in 2018, and would receive a 2.6 percent pay increase for 2019. During the visit, Trump took photos with Seal Team 5 special operators and posted images of their faces without obscuring them. The Office of the Secretary of Defense said that no rules were broken, because the special operators volunteered to participate in the press event. According to a January 3, 2020 Reuters article,