Attack by Two Armed Drones on US Base at Baghdad Airport Thwarted
Reports indicate that on Monday, December 13, US-led coalition forces shot down two armed drones that had targeted an Iraqi military base hosting American forces near Baghdad International Airport.
According to France Presse news agency, a US-led anti-ISIS coalition official in Iraq announced this news on Monday, and Reuters also confirmed the report citing Iraqi security sources, stating that no one was injured in the incident.
A US coalition source who requested anonymity told France Presse that “these two suicide drones with homemade cruise missiles attacked Baghdad airport around 4:30 AM” and added that only logistical forces, contractors, and civilian personnel were present in the area targeted by the attack.
The source further stated that “this is a civilian airport, carrying out such missile and drone attacks on it is extremely dangerous.”
This incident, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility, occurs two years after a US unmanned aircraft near the same airport killed Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, field commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces militia.
Photos obtained by France Presse from US coalition officials in Iraq show the remains of one of the projectiles from Monday’s attack, which bears the message “Operation to Avenge the Commanders.”
The coalition source told the news agency that “Iraqis have launched investigations into this attack.”
Qasem Soleimani, who for years played the most pivotal role in forming and supporting Shiite militias in Iraq and other countries in the region, was killed two years ago on December 13.
He and forces under his command were on the terrorist and sanctions lists of the United States, Canada, Europe, and some regional countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Israel. Soleimani was also subject to UN Security Council sanctions under Resolution 1747.
Before Soleimani’s killing, tensions began with attacks by Islamic Republic-backed militia groups on the US Embassy in Baghdad and prior to that with the killing of an American contractor by these militias.
The Guard-backed militia groups, during their attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad, wrote Qasem Soleimani’s name on the embassy wall as their “leader.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran, five days after Soleimani’s killing, targeted Ain al-Asad base, the headquarters of US forces in Iraq, with missiles.
Source: Radio Farda
