Two drones crash over US base in Iraq
- There are currently 2,500 US troops in Iraq, bringing the total to 3,500.
BAGHDAD: The Iraqi military says a U.S. drone struck a U.S. military base on Sunday, killing at least two people.
The Iraqi military says the U.S. military's C-Ram defense system was activated to shoot down a drone over the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq's western desert.
Col. Van Maruto, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq, said the rocket was fired at Baghdad airport several hours earlier, without any casualties.
The coalition was sent to Iraq to help the country's army fight the Islamic State group. A campaign was announced by Baghdad in late 2017.
There are currently 2,500 US troops in Iraq, bringing the total to 3,500.
The United States has blamed Iranian-linked Iraqi factions for launching a rocket and other attacks on Iraqi installations.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been 39 attacks against US interests in Iraq.
There have been several bombings against logistics convoys, including 14 rocket attacks, some claimed by pro-Iranian factions aimed at pressuring Washington to withdraw all its troops.
For Western diplomats and high-ranking military officials in Iraq, these attacks are not only a threat to US personnel but also a compromise in the fight against IS, which maintains sleeper cells in mountainous and desert areas. ۔
One such source said, "These attacks are a hobby." Only those who are helping are militants because whenever they attack a base where there are coalition advisers, those advisers are empowered. We have to stop what we are doing to pay attention to the protection of. "
The use of drones by US-linked factions against US interests is a relatively new tactic.
The U.S. military has previously accused pro-Iranian Iraqi groups of using Yemeni Houthi rebels to carry out attacks against Saudi interests.
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