An Air Force AC-130 gunship destroyed a truck on Tuesday in Western Iraq after the aircraft’s crew watched Iranian-backed militia fighters use the vehicle to launch a ballistic missile attack on U.S. troops, injuring eight Americans, defense officials said.
“Immediately following the attack, a U.S. military AC-130 aircraft in the area conducted a self-defense strike against an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of Iranian-backed militia personnel involved in this attack,” according to U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM. “This self-defense strike resulted in several enemy casualties.”