A military base in western Iraq, which includes US forces, was attacked by at least one drone, as an Iraqi security source and another military source reported, without causing casualties or damages.
The attack comes as Iraqi factions loyal to Iran threaten US interests in Iraq against the backdrop of Washington’s support for Israel in the war with Hamas, in a confrontation that has so far resulted in thousands of deaths.
According to Iraqi sources, two drones attacked the Assad base located in Anbar Governorate in western Iraq on Saturday, and while the first was intercepted and shot down, the second fell due to a technical defect inside the camp without causing any damages.
Through Telegram channels affiliated with Shiite factions loyal to Iran, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone attack on the Assad base on Saturday afternoon.
The Pentagon reported that it wasn’t aware of any such attack.
A US Defense Department official, who requested to remain anonymous, said, “We haven’t received any operational reports confirming that an attack occurred on Saturday”.
Since Wednesday, bases containing US forces and forces from the international coalition to combat jihadists in Iraq, namely Assad and Harir in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, and a camp near Baghdad airport, have been subjected to five attacks.
Iraqi factions loyal to Iran accused Israel and the United States of committing a massacre in Gaza, including the Hezbollah Brigades – one of the most prominent factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces – which stressed in a statement the necessity of these evil people leaving the country in reference to the Americans, and threatened them if they didn’t do so, and that is because they will taste the fire of hell in this world before the afterlife.
Until last year, bases housing US forces were subjected to numerous missile and drone attacks.
Since the summer of 2022, these attacks have stopped while Iraq has witnessed relative stability.
No side claimed responsibility for these attacks at the time, but the United States attributed them to Iraqi factions loyal to Iran.
In late 2021, Iraq announced that the presence of foreign combat forces in the country had ended and that the international coalition’s mission had become advisory and training only.
In this context, 2,500 US soldiers and 1,000 coalition soldiers are still deployed in three Iraqi military bases.
