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Iraq: Fresh drone attack targets military base housing US soldiers

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: May 08, 2021, 06:37 PM IST
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(File photo) A US soldier in Iraq Photograph:(AFP)

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The explosives-packed drone hit an Iraqi base housing US soldiers

US military on Saturday said that a new drone attack targetted American forces in Iraq. The military said that the drone was packed with explosives and hit an Iraqi base that housed US troops early on Saturday.

There have been no casualties.

The attack on the Ain Al-Asad air base was the fourth in Iraq in less than week.

"Each attack... undermines the authority of Iraqi institutions, the rule of law and Iraqi national sovereignty," said US-led coalition spokesman Colonel Wayne Marotto.

"No injuries reported. A hangar was damaged," he said in a tweet.

It was only the second time authorities publicly confirmed a drone had been used in an attack on a target inside Iraq.

In April, a drone packed with explosives hit the coalition's Iraq headquarters in the military part of the airport in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil.

The attack sent shock waves around Iraq -- the tactic poses a headache for the coalition, as drones can evade the C-RAM air defences it has installed to protect its bases.

But an Iraqi government official told AFP that the Arbil strike was not the first use of a drone against a target inside Iraq.

"Drones were used by pro-Iran groups more than once before the attack in Arbil," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In the meantime, there has been no let-up in rocket and other attacks carried out by the coalition's foes over the past 18 months.

(With inputs from agencies)