Iran attacks bases housing US troops

By James Griffiths, Veronica Rocha, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes and Ivana Kottasová, CNN

Updated 8:20 a.m. ET, January 8, 2020
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10:39 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

US official: Military had early warning of missile attack

From CNN's John Kirby

A US military official has told CNN that the military did have enough early warning of the ballistic missile attack on airbases in Iraq to sound the alarm.

People in harm's way were able to get to bunkers in time, the official said.

10:45 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

UK and Canada monitoring situation in Iraq

From CNN's Dave Alsup and Sugam Pokharel

Canadian and British officials said they are monitoring the situation for troops on the ground in Iraq.

On Twitter, General Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defense staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, said that all his country's personnel are safe following the missile attacks in Iraq.

"CAF families: I can assure you that all deployed CAF personnel are safe (and) accounted for," he said. "We remain vigilant."

Separately, the UK said it was "urgently working to establish the facts on the ground" in Iraq, a spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office told CNN in the early hours of Wednesday morning in London. 

"Our first priority is the security of British Personnel," the spokeswoman said. 

10:22 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Top Iraqi Kurdistan official urges Pompeo to de-escalate

From CNN's Samantha Beech

The prime minister of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, spoke with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Wednesday morning local time following the Iranian missile attack, he said in a tweet.

"In my telephone call this morning with (Pompeo) we discussed the current developments in Iraq," Barzani said. "I also suggested ways to de-escalate and contain the situation."

10:31 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Iraqi security officials say no casualties

From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq in Baghdad

Iraqi security officials are now telling CNN there are no casualties among Iraqi security forces following the attacks on the al-Asad airbase in Anbar province and the attacks in Erbil. 

This is updated information from security officials following the initial assessment. Earlier Wednesday, an Iraqi security source told CNN that there had been Iraqi casualties.

"We were initially hearing that there were casualties -- it was unclear how many or if they were killed or wounded -- on the Iraqi side," CNN's Arwa Damon reported from Baghdad.

"Now we're hearing from two other sources that there may not be casualties -- that does make sense given how chaotic the aftermath of these strikes can be."

10:14 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Australian PM says all diplomats and military personnel in Iraq are safe

From CNN's Carly Walsh

All Australian diplomats and military personnel in Iraq are safe, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a press conference.

Morrison said the government is closing monitoring the events unfolding in the region and that the National Security Committee has been closely monitoring developments for the past few days.

In a separate statement, Morrison said he had directed the country's Chief of the Defense Force to take “whatever actions are necessary to protect and defend our ADF (Australian Defense Forces) and diplomatic personnel and keep Australians safe."

According to the latest information from the Australian Department of Defense, roughly 300 ADF personnel are positioned at a base northwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. An additional 150 or so are based elsewhere in the Middle East as part of the international effort to combat ISIS.

10:02 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Singapore Airlines diverts flights from Iranian airspace

From CNN's Akanksha Sharma

Singapore Airlines has diverted all its flights from the Iranian airspace.

Here's what the airline said in a statement to CNN:

“In view of the latest developments in the region, all SIA flights in and out of Europe are diverted from the Iranian airspace. We are monitoring the situation closely and will make the appropriate adjustments to our routes if necessary.”

The airline is the national carrier of Singapore.

9:54 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Missiles hit areas of al-Asad base not populated by Americans

From CNN's Ryan Browne and Pamela Brown

The initial assessment is that the Iranian missiles struck areas of the al-Asad base not populated by Americans, according to a US military official and a senior administration official.

Officials have said the US is awaiting daylight to get a full assessment of the results of the strike.

Earlier, an Iraqi security source told CNN that there were casualties among the Iraqis at the base.

9:52 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Trump says a statement is coming tomorrow

President Trump just tweeted that he will be making a statement Wednesday morning following the missile attack at two Iraqi bases that house US troops.

"All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good!" he said.

Read his tweet:

9:52 p.m. ET, January 7, 2020

Iran's foreign minister: "We do not seek escalation or war"

From CNN’s Sugam Pokharel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted in the early hours of Wednesday morning local time, following an attack on two Iraqi bases where US troops are located. 

“Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched," he tweeted.

 Read his tweet:

CNN's John King explains Zarif's tweet: