Hours after Iran carried out a ballistic missile attack targeting a US base in Qatar, there was an incident at a sprawling Iraqi military base north of Baghdad. According to reports, a drone attack targeted a radar at Camp Taji north of Baghdad.
The attack at Taji unfolded around the same time that US President Donald Trump announced there would be a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. He made the announcement around one in the morning. A second drone attack was reported at another base in Iraq as well, meaning the attacks appeared coordinated.
Camp Taji is a massive base around 15 miles north of Baghdad. Camp Taji is around thirty square kilometers or 9,000 acres in size and has a runway and airfield. It has numerous barracks and other facilities. According to Al-Arabiya, “unidentified drones struck radar systems at two military bases in Iraq early Tuesday, security sources said.”
The AFP reported that one drone struck a radar site at Taji and a second drone targeted “the radar system at the Imam Ali airbase.” That base is in Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq. Middle East Monitor said that a source confirmed that a drone “targeted the communications centre, which contains the radar systems of Imam Ali Air Base.” This base is near the city of Nasiriyah. The drone caused “material damage but no injuries.”
The report also claimed a third drone “fell in the Radwaniya district, ten kilometers west of Baghdad International Airport, the source added, where US troops are deployed in a base as part of an anti-extremist coalition.” A source told AFP that a drone had hit a radar at Taji and that another drone “fell near a generator.”
Middle East Monitor quoted Saad Maan, head of the Security Media Cell affiliated with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, as telling reporters that “an unidentified drone bombed the radar, while another drone crashed near an electricity generator.”
A photo online showed flames at Taji, and another photo showed that a fire crew had extinguished a fire at the radar site. “The attacks caused material damage, but no casualties were reported,” Lieutenant General Walid al-Tamimi told an official Iraqi News Agency.
Iraqi Shia militias deny involvement
The AFP said that sources with the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilization Forces had denied their involvement. The pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen also reported the strikes. “Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Iraq also reported that preliminary assessments suggest the explosion at Taji Camp may have resulted from a strike carried out by an unidentified drone,” the report said.
"According to our correspondent, the explosion affected the aerial radar system, an electrical maintenance section, and fuel storage tanks. Explosions were also heard in the Saladin Governorate, as local media reported that an attack targeted the Balad Air Base, home to the Iraqi Air Force's contingent of F-16 fighter jets. Additionally, explosions were reportedly heard near the Baghdad International Airport.”
Kurdistan24 reported three large explosions as part of the drone attacks. “Three powerful explosions rocked the Taji military base north of Baghdad late Tuesday, according to a Kurdistan24’s correspondent, Dilan Barzan, reporting from the Iraqi capital.” The report said the “security forces have reportedly sealed off the area as emergency crews respond to the incident.”
It was unclear who would have motives to strike Iraqi army bases. In the past, the pro-Iranian militias have targeted US forces at Camp Taji. However, those attacks were in 2019 and 2020, and the US withdrew forces from Taji in August 2020. This was after the US killed IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani in Iraq in January 2020 in response to the attacks on US forces in Iraq.
Would the Iranian militias want to weaken Iraq’s radar systems? It is not clear why Iran would have a motive to weaken Iraq, which is an ally of Iran. Iraqi leaders are generally close to Iran in terms of political and regional orientation. The only plausible reason for an Iranian attack would be its belief that Iraq is feeding radar data to US Central Command or to others. However, it’s also plausible that degrading Iraq’s radar coverage could serve other purposes. It remains to be seen if Iraq recovers parts of the drones or makes a determination. Iraq has tried to avoid being sucked into the recent conflict. Its airspace was closed, and it expressed concern to Iran and other countries.