>> FOUR POLICE K9s AND ONE CIVILIAN UNDERDOG GO PAW TO PAW AS THEY GO FOR
can imagine all ending with. AS THEY GO FOR
can imagine all ending with. ♪
>> Good evening. We’re coming on the air with breaking news,
the Pentagon confirming
that Iran has launched a series
of ballistic missiles targeting
American forces in Iraq, let’s go to nbc’s Richard Engel right
♪
♪ now he is in Iraq with the
latest what you tell us
>> Reporter: WELL, IRAN HAS
CONFIRMED THAT IT HAS LAUNCHED
WHAT IS A CONVENTIONAL STRIKE,
FIRING, IT SAYS, MORE THAN A
DOZEN BALLISTIC MISSILES FROM
INSIDE IRANIAN TERRITORY AS
BASES THAT HOUSE AMERICAN
PERSONNEL HERE IN IRAQ.
THE U.S. MILITARY SAYS THAT TWO
BASES WERE TARGETED, THE AL
ASSAD BASE WHICH IS IN WESTERN
IRAQ, ABOUT 200 MILES FROM THE
IRANIAN BORDER, AND HERE IN
IRBIL WHERE I AM NOW.
WE HEARD WHAT SEEMS LIKE TWO
EXPLOSIONS.
EXPLOSIONS. THERE ARE HELICOPTERS IN THE SKY
RIGHT NOW PATROLLING THE AREA.
IRAN IS NOT JUST CLAIMING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS.
IT SAYS THAT THE OPERATION WAS
CODE NAMED MARTYR SOLEIMANI.
SO IT SAYS THIS IS A DIRECT
RESPONSE TO THE U.S. TARGETED
KILLING OF THE TOP IRANIAN
GENERAL QASSEM SOLEIMANI.
THE IRANIAN NEWS AGENCIES HAVE
ALSO PUT OUT VIDEO.
THEY WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW.
THE VIDEO SHOWS WHAT SEEMED TO
BE AT LEAST THREE MISSILES FIRED
FROM IRAN.
FROM IRAN. YOU CAN SEE THEM IN THE AIR.
YOU CAN HEAR THE DISTINCT SOUND
OF A ROCKET ENGINE.
WE DO NOT KNOW, HOWEVER, IF
THERE ARE CASUALTIES AT THIS
STAGE.
STAGE. THERE ARE REPORTS IN IRAQI MEDIA
THAT THERE ARE IRAQI CASUALTIES.
U.S. MILITARY OFFICIALS THAT
WE’VE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HAVE
SAID THAT AT THE AL ASSAD BASE,
THEY WERE UNDER TRAEKATTACK, THA
TROOPS TOOK TO THEIR SHELTERS,
WENT DOWN INTO BUNKERS.
THE MISSILES CAME IN WAVES, A
FIRST WAVE FOLLOWED BY A SECOND
WAVE.
WAVE. AN IRANIAN NEWS AGENCY SAYS IF
THE UNITED STATES RESPONDS,
THERE WILL BE MORE ATTACKS, WHAT
THEY DESCRIBE AS DEVASTATING
ATTACKS.
ATTACKS. WHAT WE DON’T KNOW IS, WILL THE
UNITED STATES RESPOND.
THE UNITED STATES HAS THREATENED
TO RESPOND SO IT IS VERY LIKELY
THAT SOME SORT OF RESPONSE IS
EITHER BEING FORMULATED OR
POTENTIALLY IN PROCESS.
>> RICHARD, OVER THE YEARS, ONE
OF THE POINTS OF DISPUTE BETWEEN
IRAN AND THE U.S. IS ITS
DEVELOPMENT OF BALLISTIC
MISSILES.
MISSILES. DO WE KNOW IF THESE ARE LARGE
BALLISTIC MISSILES OR ROCKETS?
>> Reporter: IRANIAN SAYS THEY
ARE BALLISTIC MISSILES.
AND TO TRAVEL FROM THE IRANIAN
BORDER, WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY
HOW DEEP IN IRANIAN TERRITORY
THEY WERE FIRED FROM, BUT TO GO
JUST FROM THE EDGE OF THE
IRANIAN BORDER TO THE ASSAD
BASE, YOU WOULD NEED SOME SORT
OF POWERFUL MISSILE.
IT WOULDN’T HAVE TO BE A LONG
RANGE MISSILE BUT A LOT MORE
THAN THESE POINT AND SHOOT
ROCKETS THAT TEND TO BE FIRED AT
U.S. BASES HERE IN IRAQ.
SO A VERY SIGNIFICANT
ESCALATION.
ESCALATION. THIS IS A CONVENTIONAL CROSS
BORDER ATTACK BY AN ORGANIZED
MILITARY AGAINST AN ORGANIZED
MILITARY BASE, U.S. BASES HERE
IN IRAQ.
IN IRAQ. TECHNICALLY THESE ARE IRAQI
BASIS THAT HOUSE U.S. PERSONNEL
BUT WITHOUT A DOUBT THEY WERE
TARGETED BY IRAN AND IRAN WANTS
THE WORLD TO KNOW.
EVERY FEW MINUTES OR SO, IRANIAN
DIFFERENT NEWS AGENCIES ARE
PUTTING OUT DIFFERENT TWITTERS
SAYING THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO
THE DEATH OF QASSEM SOLEIMANI,
THEY’RE PUTTING OUT HASHTAGS,
MARTYR SOLEIMANI.
MARTYR SOLEIMANI. >> LET’S GO TO NBC’S COURTNEY
KUBE AT THE PENTAGON.
COURTNEY, WHAT ARE THEY SAYING
THERE?
THERE? >> Reporter: THE PENTAGON WAS
THE FIRST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN
FACT WHAT THEY ARE SAYING, IRAN
LAUNCHED MORE THAN A DOZEN
BALLISTIC MISSILES FROM INSIDE
IRAN AT TWO LOCATIONS INSIDE OF
IRAQ.
IRAQ. THESE ARE IRAQI BASIS THAT HOUSE
U.S. AND COALITION TROOPS, AND
AL ASSAD IN WESTERN IRAQ.
THE LAUNCH TOWARDS IRBIL, WHAT’S
UNCLEAR IS WHETHER THEY WERE
TARGETING OR HAD STRUCK A BASE.
THE BASE HOUSES A NUMBER OF U.S.
MILITARY FORCES.
MILITARY FORCES. ONLY A FEW WEEKS AGO THEY
LAUNCHED OUT OF THERE FOR PART
OF THE RAID THAT KILLED ABU BAKR
AL BAGHDADI.
AL BAGHDADI. THERE IS A U.S. PRESENCE THERE.
WHAT’S UNCLEAR IS WHAT EXACTLY
WAS HIT UP THERE.
THE U.S. MILITARY CONTINUES TO
DO THEIR BATTLE DAMAGE
ASSESSMENT, TRYING TO DETERMINE
WHAT WAS HIT AND WHETHER THERE
WERE ANY CASUALTIES.
SO FAR WE’RE NOT HEARING ABOUT
THAT BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S
NOT THE CASE, LESTER.
AL ASAD AIRBASE IS A SPRAWLING
BASE OUT IN WESTERN IRAQ, IN THE
DESERT.
DESERT. PRESIDENT TRUMP WAS THERE ONLY
WEEKS AGO FOR HIS FIRST TRIP TO
IRAQ AS PRESIDENT.
ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THAT
LOCATION HAS HOUSED SO MANY U.S.
TROOPS, LARGELY U.S. MARINES,
OVER THE YEARS IS BECAUSE
THEY’RE ABLE TO PROVIDE FORCE
PROTECTION.
PROTECTION. IT’S SO SPREAD OUT.
IT’S IN A RURAL AREA, NOT A BIG
CITY LIKE THE BASE IN BAGHDAD OR
THE BASES IN IRBIL, SO IT
PROVIDES MORE FORCE PROTECTION.
IF IRAN WAS TRYING TO TARGET
SPECIFIC THINGS ON THAT BASE,
THAT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT
UNLESS YOU HAD VERY ACCURATE AND
PRECISE PRECISION-GUIDED
PRECISE PRECISION-GUIDED MISSILES.
MISSILES. >> AND WORTH NOTING, OF COURSE,
YOU’VE MADE THE POINT THAT ALL
THESE BASES IN THAT REGION WOULD
HAVE BEEN ON HIGH ALERT
ANTICIPATING SOME SORT OF
REACTION OR RETALIATION.
COURTNEY KUBE, THANKS.
NBC’S KRISTEN WELKER IS
FOLLOWING THIS FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. KRISTEN, WHAT’S THE REACTION
THERE TONIGHT?
THERE TONIGHT? >> Reporter: WELL, WE JUST GOT
REACTION FROM PRESS SECRETARY
STEPHANIE GRISHAM A SHORT TIME
AGO.
AGO. SHE SAID, WE ARE AWARE OF
ATTACKS IN IRAQ, THE PRESIDENT
IS MONITORING THE SITUATION
CLOSELY AND CONSULTING WITH HIS
NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM.
WE KNOW THE VICE PRESIDENT HAS
ALSO BEEN BRIEFED.
HE HAS CALLED LAWMAKERS, HOUSE
SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, SENATOR
CHUCK SCHUMER, TO INFORM THEM,
TO KEEP THEM BRIEFED ABOUT THE
ATTACK.
ATTACK. NOW, SPEAKER PELOSI JUST PUTTING
OUT A TWEET OF HER OWN, SAYING
THAT SHE IS CLOSELY MONITORING
THE SITUATION.
THE SITUATION. THESE BOMBINGS TARGETING U.S.
TROOPS.
TROOPS. SHE SAID, WE MUST ENSURE THE
SAFETY OF OUR SERVICE MEMBERS.
SO ALL EYES ON THIS.
THE WEST WING IS VERY FULL HERE
TONIGHT AS THE WHITE HOUSE
MONITORS DEVELOPMENTS.
MONITORS DEVELOPMENTS. >> IT’S GOING TO BE A LATE NIGHT
FOR ALL.
FOR ALL. KRISTEN, THANK YOU.
WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THE BREAKING
NEWS ON THIS NBC STATION.
ALSO COVERAGE ON MSNBC AND .