The Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) press release said that U.S. Soldiers take part in live fire exercise at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq to provide better security for Coalition forces in the region.

U.S. Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, took part in an exercise in which Soldiers applied knowledge gained during training, such as; base defense, protection against attacks and patrolling.

“These drills are used to enhance base defense operations to provide better security for Coalition forces in Iraq,” said in a CJTF-OIR statement.

Al Asad Air Base is an Iraqi Armed Forces and United States Armed Forces base located in Al Anbar Governorate (also called Anbar province) of western Iraq. The base is also used by British armed forces in Iraq.

As CNN previously reported, this base was attacked by pro-Iranian forces early in the year. The attack lasted around two hours, only targeting the US areas of the air base, which comprise around a quarter of the Iraqi base.

The Iranian attack on the Al-Asad airbase was one of two on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. The attacks were in retaliation for a drone strike at a Baghdad airport that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander, Qasem Soleimani, earlier in the week.