Three armed attack drones were shot down in two separate attacks on an outpost near Erbil airport, in Iraq, hosting U.S. and coalition troops Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing a statement by Iraqi Kurdistan’s security service.
The attacks, if confirmed by the Pentagon, would bring the total of Iran-backed militia attacks on bases hosting American military personnel to 40 since Oct. 17. Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iraqi terrorist groups operating at Iran’s behest, claimed an successful attack on Al-Harir military base northeast of Erbil airport early Tuesday morning, accordingto Reuters and a statement from the group.
Hours later, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq also said it attacked the “American occupation base at Erbil Airport with drones, directly hitting their targets.” There was no evidence that the one-way attack drones impacted their targets, however.
A defense system at the military base near the airport intercepted the drones, the statement from Iraqi Kurdistan’s security service said, according to Reuters.
No casualties or damage to facilities resulted from the attack, a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) spokesperson told the outlet. Coalition forces have been targeted at least 38 times since Oct. 17, although most of those attacks have been unsuccessful due to “robust defenses,” the spokesperson added, echoing the Pentagon’s comments from Monday.
U.S. troops in Iraq have been targetd 20 times and American personnel in Syria 18 times in repeated “harassing attacks of drones and rockets,” Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. At least 46 personnel sustained injures including traumatic brain injuries and minor wounds from shrapnel, headaches, perforated ear drums and other conditions, he said.
The Pentagon referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). CENTCOM did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
None of the injuries occurred since the U.S. conducted what is so far the only round of self-defense strikes since the wave of attacks began. The U.S. destroyed two facilities in Syria it assessed the militias and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used as weapons depots.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has deployed an Ohio-class submarine armed with up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles to the region alongside two aircraft carrier strike groups, conducting naval exercises and strategic bomber deployments over the weekend. The surge in public displays of American military power is in part aimed at sending a message to adversaries seeking to escalate conflict, the Pentagon has said.
Micaela Burrow on November 7, 2023
