Drone attack targets US-led coalition base in Iraq

Several drones on Tuesday targeted an airbase in Iraq hosting US troops, causing injuries and damage, says a US military official.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, there have been more than 140 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, deployed there to fight jihadists of the Islamic State group.

“Multiple attack drones were launched” at the Ain al-Assad base in the western Anbar province, a US military official tells AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

“Latest reports include injuries and damage to infrastructure,” said the official, adding he did not have further details as yet.

An Iraqi security official meanwhile said a drone was shot down as it attempted to target the base.

In a statement, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups, claimed responsibility for two attacks Tuesday using drones against the base, saying they were acting in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict, has claimed most of the recent attacks on US-led forces in Iraq.

The same base was targeted by at least a dozen missiles on Saturday.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer on Sunday described that attack as “very serious,” saying it used “ballistic missiles that posed a genuine threat.”

Washington has on several occasions launched strikes on Iran-backed groups in retaliation for the attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani is now calling for the international coalition to leave the country, saying that the deployment must end to ensure the country’s security.

There are roughly 2,500 American troops in Iraq and some 900 in Syria.

Tensions have been soaring across the Middle East since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 shock onslaught that killed 1,200 people and saw 253 taken as hostages to Gaza. The region has seen a surge in violence involving Iran-backed allies of Palestinian terror group Hamas.