TEHRAN- Monday’s rocket attack against American forces in Iraq has thrown a spotlight on rising anti-US sentiment amid Washington’s strikes against resistance fighters in the Arab country and its unwavering support for Israel’s military adventurism in West Asia.

The attack targeted the Ain al-Assad Airbase, which houses US troops, in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar.

Several US troops were injured in the strike at the military base. 

According to an American official and Iraqi witnesses, the attack involved at least two rockets that hit inside the military site’s perimeter. 

No group has taken responsibility for the strike on the Ain al-Assad Airbase. But Iraqi resistance groups have already hit US military bases and troops. 

They have struck Ain al-Assad repeatedly over the past years in protest against the US military presence in Iraq and its attacks on resistance fighters. 

The latest of such US strikes claimed the lives of four members of Iraq’s anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in an area south of Baghdad nearly a week ago.

A rocket attack on a US military base in Iraq has highlighted Washinton-Tel Aviv warmongering policies in West Asia.  Calls for the expulsion of US troops from Iraq began to grow in January 2020 after an American drone strike assassinated Iran's anti-terror icon Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and PMU deputy commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis outside Baghdad International Airport.

The Iraqi parliament also voted in favor of expelling foreign forces from the Arab country at that time. 

The US has maintained 2,500 troops in Iraq under the pretext of fighting remnants of the ISIL terror group, also known as ISIS and Daesh. 

Besides, the US support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza that erupted in October last year has resulted in rising attacks against American troops in Iraq. 

There had been a lull in such attacks since late January until they were resumed in recent weeks. This comes amid warnings that the continuation of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza and its attacks against Lebanon could push the region toward an all-out war. 

The recent assassinations of regional resistance leaders by Israel have added fuel to the fire. 

Last Wednesday, Israel assassinated Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. He had traveled to Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of new President Masoud Pezeshkian. 

On July 30, Israel also assassinated Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Presently, Israel and its American, European and other West Asian allies are bracing for a reprisal attack from Iran and regional resistance groups in response to the assassinations. 

Iran has vowed to avenge the death of Haniyeh and punish Israel. 

As a result, amid such tense conditions, any US strikes on Iraqi resistance groups would push the region to the brink. 

Meanwhile, the United States has said it is working "around the clock" to avert an all-out war in West Asia.

If the US is in favor of de-escalation, it must muzzle Israel which is acting like a rabid dog. 

Besides, if the lives of American troops matter to the administration of President Joe Biden, it should end the US military presence in Iraq as soon as possible.