Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
Early on May 8th, a suicide drone struck Ain al-Assad Air Base, where US are known to be deployed, in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar.
In an official statement, Colonel Wayne Marotto, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, said that an aircraft hangar was damaged as a result of the drone strike. The spokesman noted that there were no human losses.
“The attack is under investigation,” Col. Marotto said. “Each attack against the GoI [Government of Iraq], KRG [the Kurdistan Region Government] and Coalition undermines the authority of Iraqi institutions, the rule of law and Iraqi national sovereignty.”
Following the attack, the airspace over Ain al-Assad Air Base was closed, according to the reports by al-Arabiya. The UAE-based news channel said that Iraqi security forces were currently searching for the individuals responsible for the attack.
Ain al-Assad Air base hosts most of the remaining US forces in Iraq, estimated to be nearly 2,500 personnel. Many US-led coalition warplanes and drones are also deployed in the base.
The air base was targeted by pro-Iranian Iraqi forces on several occasions in the last few months. However, all previous attacks were carried out with rockets.
This was not, however, the first time a suicide drone is used in an attack against US forces in Iraq. On April 14th, a drone struck a US military installation in Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq.
No group has claimed responsibility for the drone attack on Ain al-Assad Air Base, so far. The US-led coalition will not likely respond as the attack didn’t result in any human losses. Most recent attacks on US forces in Iraq were meant to inflict material losses only.
what do they hope to achieve damaging a hangar or something? come on
So the airspace was closed after wards . Did they send a letter explaining the consequences should they launch another drone otherwise it doesn’t count. Drones may become more effective than blindly firing rockets not that they seem to do much