Two armed drone attacks on US forces base at Baghdad airport thwarted
Reports indicate that on Monday, January 3, US coalition forces shot down two armed drones that were targeting an Iraqi military base hosting US forces near Baghdad International Airport.
According to AFP, an official from the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq announced the news on Monday, and Reuters also reported, citing Iraqi security sources, that no one was injured in the incident.
A US coalition source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP that "the two suicide drones with homemade cruise missiles attacked Baghdad airport at around 4:30 a.m.," adding that only logistics forces, contractors and civilian personnel were present at the site of the attack.
The source added that "this is a civilian airport, it is very dangerous to carry out these types of missile and drone attacks there."
The incident, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility, comes two years after a US drone strike near the same airport killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' overseas force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, field commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Photos obtained by AFP from US coalition officials in Iraq show the remains of one of the projectiles from Monday's attack, with the message "Commanders' Revenge Operation" written on it.
A coalition source told this news agency that "the Iraqis have launched an investigation into the attack."
Qassem 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 January 3.
He and his forces were on the terrorist and sanction lists of the United States, Canada, Europe, and some regional countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Israel. Soleimani was also subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions under Resolution 1747.
Before the killing of Qassem Soleimani, tensions had begun with the attack by Islamic Republic-backed militia groups on the US embassy in Baghdad, and before that, with the killing of an American contractor by these militias.
Militant groups supported by the IRGC wrote the name of Qassem Soleimani as their "leader" on the wall of the embassy during the attack on the US embassy in Baghdad.
Five days after Soleimani was killed, the Islamic Republic of Iran targeted the Ain al-Assad base, the headquarters of American forces in Iraq, with missiles.
Source: Radio Farda
