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Iran strikes at US air base in Iraq

Initially, an attack was reported on the Ein al-Assad air base in western Iraq, where American troops are stationed. Later, the Pentagon reported that two objects were attacked at once: the second target was the Erbil airfield in the north of the country, which is also used by the Americans. The US Department of Defense indicated that more than a dozen missiles were fired from Iran.

The Pentagon said it would take all necessary measures in response to the attack. The agency is currently evaluating losses and destruction. There is no official information about the victims, however, as CNN reports citing a source in the Iraqi security service, at least a few Iraqi citizens were injured. There is also data on damaged American fighter jets.

Later, information appeared that Iranian forces inflicted a second series of attacks on American targets.

Attack called revenge for the assassination of General Suleymani

The responsibility for the strike was assumed by the Corps of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC, an elite division of the Iranian army). His statement said that "brave soldiers carried out a successful attack by dozens of ballistic missiles at the Ein al-Assad military base." The operation itself was called the “Martyr Suleymani” - in honor of the killed by the Americans Iranian general Kassem Suleymani, the head of the special forces “Al-Quds”.

The IRGC called on the United States to withdraw troops from Iraq in order to avoid a more powerful response and serious damage. In addition, US allies promised "military retaliation" if they attack Iranian forces from their bases in the region. In this statement, Israel is called an accomplice in the killing of Suleimani.

The incident in the IRGC was called "merciless revenge" for the murder of the general, saidThe New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassihi. She also noted that the American base was attacked at about 01:20 - at the same time that the US attacked Suleimani on January 3.

The United States announced the possibility of a full-fledged war

Eliott Engel, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, said Iran’s strike could mean that the United States was involved in a full-blown conflict. “This could be the beginning of a full-scale war that no one wants,” said the congressman. According to him, the consequences of such a conflict can be terrible, and therefore one should think how to get out of this situation.

Trump reacted to Bolton's information about blackmailing Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has denied accusations of blackmailing Ukraine by his former National Security Assistant John Bolton . He wrote about this on Twitter .

“I never told John Bolton that assistance to Ukraine was related to the Biden. (...) If he claims it, then only to sell the book, ”Trump wrote.

So the American leader reacted to the data presented in the book of Bolton. Excerpts from it were published by The New York Times on January 26.

According to the ex-assistant to the president, in August 2019, he blackmailed Ukraine, demanding help with the investigation against Joe Biden’s son . In case of refusal, the American leader threatened to deprive Kiev of financial assistance. It is noted that at least the $ 250 million promised in the framework of the Ukraine Security Support Initiative was unfrozen only in September last year.

In early January, Bolton said he was ready to testify in the Senate in the impeachment case. Previously, he refused to testify in the House of Representatives when hearings were held there led by Democrats.

The U.S. House of Representatives began impeachment of Trump on September 25th. The reason was his telephone conversation with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky , the contents of which were reported by an informant. Members of the Democratic Party want to prove that the United States put pressure on the head of the Ukrainian colleagues to stimulate the investigation of corruption case against the son of Joe Biden, who is considered the most promising opponent of Trump in the elections in 2020.

Taliban take responsibility for shot down US Air Force

The Afghan Taliban , banned in Russia as a terrorist, claimed responsibility for the crash of a US Air Force plane in Ghazni. This is with reference to its representative reports Reuters.

According to the Taliban, there were American troops on the aircraft, including high-ranking officers. All of them, as well as the crew of the aircraft died as a result of an attack by militants.

Earlier on January 27, a video was released from the crash site. It identified the USAF E-11A BACN, which is used as an airborne communications hub in mountainous terrain. It was also reported that he had fallen in an area controlled by the Taliban, so NATO experts could not get there .

Earlier, the governor of the province of Ghazni, Wahidullah Kalimzai, said that not a single passenger plane crashed in Afghanistan. He does not deny the fact of the catastrophe - however, a crashed plane might not belong to civilians. Referring to messages from local residents, Kalimzai said that a pilot who turned out to be a foreign citizen was pulled out of a badly burned aircraft.

Earlier it was reported that in the province of Ghazni, the Ariana Afghan Airlines liner crashed, flying to Indian New Delhi. The airline denied this statement.