Two American officials reported that the U.S. military prevented the first attack on American forces in Iraq in more than a year by intercepting two drones early on Wednesday.
Under the condition of anonymity, the authorities refrained from revealing who they believed to be responsible for the assault on the al-Asad air base. As regional tensions rise as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Washington is on high alert for activity by groups supported by Iran.
An Iraqi security official and a Western diplomat reported that a second drone attempt against the al-Harir air base, which is home to American troops in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, was also thwarted later on Wednesday.
At 12:18 PM Iraq time, an armed drone was reported to have crashed in a desert location close to the village of Batas in the Harir district by the security organization Kurdistan Counter Terrorism.
Tashkil al-Waritheen, also known as the Inheritor, a little-known organization, took credit for the assault on al-Harir.
Last week, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq threatened to use drones and missiles to strike American targets if Washington became involved in Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Although Israel, the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East, has received air defenses and ammunition from the Pentagon, American forces have not yet joined the battle.
The one-way attack drones were stopped as they tried to target the al Asad air base in Iraq, which also houses American forces, according to U.S. authorities.
The incident occurred just hours after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza claimed the lives of hundreds of Palestinians, heightening the stakes for U.S. Vice President Joe Biden as he arrived in Israel on Wednesday to show support for that country’s conflict with Hamas.
Palestinian officials said that an Israeli air attack had hit the hospital. Israeli officials vehemently disputed this, attributing the explosion at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital to a botched rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization, which also claimed responsibility.
A “massacre” was committed by Israel, according to the health minister of the Palestinian Authority.
Kataib Hezbollah, a potent armed group with strong connections to Iran, accused the United States of aiding Israel in the act of “killing innocent people” and urged its departure from Iraq. In a statement, the group warned that if the U.S. doesn’t leave the country, they will face severe consequences even before the afterlife. Additionally, Hadi Al-Amiri, an Iraqi politician leading the Badr Organisation, closely linked to Iran, held Israel accountable for the hospital attack, labeling it as the most significant massacre of the era, constituting a clear war crime. Al-Amiri also criticized the U.S. and Western nations for their support of Israel.
