Is Iran increasing drone attacks against US in Iraq?
The US-led anti-ISIS Coalition said that just after two in the morning, “Ain al-Asad Air Base was attacked by an unmanned aerial surveillance system. No injuries reported. A hangar was damaged.”
By SETH J. FRANTZMANA drone is launched during a large-scale drone combat exercise of Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in Semnan, Iran January 6, 2021(photo credit: IRANIAN ARMY/WANA/REUTERS)
A drone targeted a large base in Iraq where US forces are located on Saturday. It is one of only a handful of facilities where US soldiers are now located and the use of a drone represents a significant escalation.The US-led anti-ISIS Coalition said that just after two in the morning, “Ain al-Asad Air Base was attacked by an unmanned aerial surveillance system. No injuries reported. A hangar was damaged.”Col. Wayne Marotto, the spokesperson for the Coalition, said that each of these kinds of attacks, of which there have been an increasing number since January, “undermines the authority of Iraqi institutions.”Iran’s Press TV put the attack on the front page of its website on Saturday, indicating pro-Iran groups were likely responsible. It said that “an air base in Iraq’s western province of Anbar housing American troops has come under attack, damaging a hangar for military aircraft.”The Iraqi government’s Security Media Cell said that an explosives-laden drone had crashed inside the air base. The base is 160km west of Baghdad and is one of Iraq’s most important bases. When attacks on the US increased in 2019, there were numerous rocket attacks on US forces in Iraq. The US handed over most of its facilities in 2020, including Camp Taji, Q-West, K-1 near Kirkuk, and others. Even at places like Balad, the US has only contractors now, not soldiers. The US has concentrated forces in Baghdad near the airport and at Union III near the embassy, as well as near Erbil in the Kurdistan region. Initial reports of the drone strike were greeted with suspicion because they came from Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units, also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi. These militias are official paramilitary forces which are almost mostly pro-Iran and Shi’ite. Kataib Hezbollah, a major militia, has coordinated attacks against the US since 2019 and it is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The US killed Kataib leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.Press TV says that “the report added that C-RAM systems as well as Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) missile systems deployed at the base failed to intercept the rockets.”The report also notes that two rockets had hit Ain Al-Asad base last week and that Balad air base and the US facility near Baghdad International Airport had been targeted as well. Press TV notes that “last month, Badr al-Ziyadi, a member of the defense and security committee at the Iraqi parliament, called for the evacuation of American troops. He told Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency that the US seeks to keep its forces in Iraq with no intention of ever withdrawing. Two lawmakers with the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance at the legislature also warned of US intentions for a permanent military presence in Iraq.”In mid-April, another drone targeted Erbil. Iran has been increasing its drone abilities and has used drones in Iraq and Syria, as well as in Israel in February 2018, and has exported drone technology to the Houthis in Yemen. It appears Iran has now moved drone technology to Iraq as well. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia intercepted a Houthi drone flown from Yemen. Saudi air defenses also intercepted a drone on May 2. The drone attacks in Iraq and around the region, likely linked to Iran, illustrate the growing power of drones used by non-state actors and in asymmetric warfare. Drones offer plausible deniability. Iran likes to have its pro-Iran militias use 107mm rockets and 122mm rockets in Iraq. Iran used to send technological know-how on explosively formed detonators or EFPs to strike at US troops in Iraq in the early 2000s, killing hundreds. Now its allies in Iraq use drones.
Related TagsIraqSyria
if(catID != 151){
var cont = `Take Israel home with the new Jerusalem Post Store
