Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
Early on May 8th, a suicide drone struck Ain al-Assad Air Base, where US are known to be deployed, in the western Iraqi province of al-Anbar.
In an official statement, Colonel Wayne Marotto, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, said that an aircraft hangar was damaged as a result of the drone strike. The spokesman noted that there were no human losses.
“The attack is under investigation,” Col. Marotto said. “Each attack against the GoI [Government of Iraq], KRG [the Kurdistan Region Government] and Coalition undermines the authority of Iraqi institutions, the rule of law and Iraqi national sovereignty.”
Following the attack, the airspace over Ain al-Assad Air Base was closed, according to the reports by al-Arabiya. The UAE-based news channel said that Iraqi security forces were currently searching for the individuals responsible for the attack.
Ain al-Assad Air base hosts most of the remaining US forces in Iraq, estimated to be nearly 2,500 personnel. Many US-led coalition warplanes and drones are also deployed in the base.
The air base was targeted by pro-Iranian Iraqi forces on several occasions in the last few months. However, all previous attacks were carried out with rockets.
This was not, however, the first time a suicide drone is used in an attack against US forces in Iraq. On April 14th, a drone struck a US military installation in Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq.
No group has claimed responsibility for the drone attack on Ain al-Assad Air Base, so far. The US-led coalition will not likely respond as the attack didn’t result in any human losses. Most recent attacks on US forces in Iraq were meant to inflict material losses only.
