BAGHDAD, IRAQ — A suicide drone hit an air base in Iraq hosting U.S. troops, Iraqi security sources said Saturday, but the Pentagon said it could not confirm that such an attack took place.
Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack U.S. interests in Iraq over Washington’s support for Israel since Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people in a shock cross-border attack from Gaza on October 7.
Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 4,300 people, according to its Hamas-controlled health ministry.
“The drone came down inside the (Ain al-Assad) base” in the western province of Anbar, without causing any casualties or damage, a military source told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
A statement issued on Telegram channels used by pro-Iranian armed groups said the attack was carried out by a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
A second Iraqi security source told AFP the attack had involved two suicide drones. “The first was intercepted and the second crashed because of a technical problem,” the source said.
The Pentagon, however, said it was unaware of any such attack.
“We have not seen any operational reporting confirming” that an attack occurred Saturday, a U.S. Defense Department official said on the condition of anonymity.
Since Wednesday, three Iraqi bases used by U.S.-led coalition troops have been targeted in five separate attacks — Ain al-Assad, the Al-Harir base in northern Iraq, and a military camp near Baghdad airport.
The United States currently has about 2,500 troops stationed at the three bases, alongside around 1,000 soldiers from other countries in the coalition set up to fight the Islamic State jihadi group.
The attacks came after factions loyal to Iran stepped up threats against the United States.
One of them, the Hezbollah Brigades, demanded that U.S. forces “leave” Iraq, “otherwise they will taste the fires of hell.”
Source: VOANews
