(CNN) � A US military aircraft fired on a vehicle and killed hostile forces after multiple close-range ballistic missiles were launched against US and coalition forces at Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq on Monday evening, a US official told CNN on Tuesday.
Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh later confirmed the retaliatory action later on Tuesday, saying the attack by Iranian-backed militants resulted in “several non-serious injuries and some minor damage to infrastructure.�
This was the first time that a ballistic missile was used since attacks on US and coalition forces began on October 17, Singh said.
It’s unclear how many hostile forces were killed. Two US officials said the US AC-130 gunship, which is capable of firing artillery at ground-based targets, was acting in defense.
As of Tuesday there have been at least 66 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria since October 17, including several on forces at Al-Asad. Earlier in the day on Monday before the ballistic missile attack, a US official said a one-way drone attack was also launched against forces at Al-Asad, which resulted in no casualties or infrastructure damage.
As of last week, at least 56 US troops had sustained minor injuries in the attacks since October 17 — at least 25 of them being traumatic brain injuries — and all had since returned to duty.
It’s unclear if an AC-130 has been used to respond to attacks in this way since October 17, though a US official said the US has returned fire on hostile forces multiple times.
“We have had other cases where we have responded in retaliation when we were able to identify the point of origin,� Singh said.
The US has also carried out three strikes in Syria in response to the continuous attacks on US troops.
The US first carried out a strike on two facilities in Abu Kamal linked to Iranian-backed militias , then struck a weapons storage facility in Maysalun in Deir Ezzor, Syria, used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups . Days later on November 12, The US  on a training facility and safe house in Syria near Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively.
The attacks on US and coalition forces started after Hamas� attack on Israel, and the Pentagon has maintained that the US has been successful in deterring any escalatory actions that would expand the conflict outside of Israel and Gaza despite the continued attacks on US forces.
“Taking us back — is deterrence working? We feel that it is,� Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters last week. “We have not seen this war spread into a wider regional conflict. We have � conducted three different strikes. We responded most recently this weekend. And again, we will always reserve the right to respond at a time and place of our choosing in the future.�
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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