What happened

Iran fired ballistic missiles at Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq's Al Anbar Governorate and Erbil International Airport in the early hours of 8 January 2020, in direct retaliation for the US killing of IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani days earlier, in an operation Iran called 'Martyr Soleimani.' Missile-count estimates vary by source: US Central Command said 15, the Pentagon said 16 from three Iranian locations, Iraq's military said 22 (17 toward Al-Asad, 5 toward Erbil), and an IRGC commander said 13. No deaths were reported, but traumatic brain injuries emerged as a major concern in the following weeks: by 17 January, 11 troops had been medically evacuated; by 28 January, up to 50 service members had been diagnosed; the final count reached 110 US personnel treated for mild traumatic brain injury, with 68 soldiers ultimately awarded Purple Hearts. Satellite imagery confirmed at least five structures damaged at Al-Asad, including aircraft hangars, a special-forces compound, the air control tower and a destroyed Black Hawk helicopter, with runway impacts and craters up to 30 feet wide; fiber-optic cables were melted, temporarily disabling drone communications. This record introduces this globally significant strike — among the largest ballistic-missile attacks on US forces in history — to the site's airbase/airport-strike coverage, added following the extension of the backfill window back to 2020.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.