A coalition airbase in Iraq was attacked by a drone, causing partial damage but no casualties.
The U.S.-led coalition Ain al-Asad Airbase in Iraq’s Anbar province was attacked by at least one armed drone on Saturday (May 8), and at least one helicopter gunship was shot down after the attack.
Arab media broadcast video showing a bulldozer cleaning a damaged hangar at the base. U.S. coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said the attack caused no casualties.
Marotto said in a tweet that the attack occurred at about 2:20 a.m. Saturday morning. Iraqi state television reported that an “explosive drone” crashed at Assad Airbase, causing no casualties.
This was the second attack on Assad Airbase this month. Recently, there have been reports of separate attacks on bases used by U.S. and coalition forces at Baghdad and Erbil (Irbil) airports in Kurdistan, as well as attacks on U.S. military convoys throughout Iraq.
Saudi Arabian satellite television (al-Arabiya) reported that Iran operated a number of drones on the ground, but did not accuse Iran or its proxies of carrying out the attack.
Iraqi analyst Colonel Ayad Toufan told al-Arabiya that U.S. and Iraqi forces were able to get some information from the wreckage after the drone crashed. He believes at least one of the drones flew from the border area between Iraq and Syria to the vicinity of Assad Air Base.
Some believe the last attack on Assad Air Base was launched by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia, which has forces in both Iraq and Syria. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps also has several bases in Syria near the Iraqi border.
The U.S. currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq, most of whom are stationed at Assad Air Base. Adm. Kenneth Mackenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, told Arab media earlier this year that “drones are the biggest threat to U.S. forces on the ground.”
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