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The United States has already deployed Patriot anti-air batteries to the bases hosting US troops in Iraq, AFP reported on March 30 citing US and Iraqi sources. The systems are reportedly deployed in Erbil and at Ain al-Asad base, which was hit by Iranian ballistic missiles in in January.
The US had been planning to deploy Patriot missiles in Iraq since the military escalation with Iran in the region, when Iranian forces conducted a missile strike on US bases in responce to US agressive actions.
The AFP has not been able to confirm whether Baghdad actually gave its nod to the deployment. However, two anti-air complexes are already on the Iraqi soil.
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The report says that the first Patriot battery was delivered to Ain al-Asad last week, while the second one was being set up at a base in Erbil. There are at least two more batteries earmarked for the deployment in Iraq. However, they are yet to reach the destination, for now located in Kuwait.
