SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Two drones targeting Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province were shot down, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday.
Iraq’s security media cell said in a tweet that the two drones were brought down outside the vicinity of the air base without causing damages.
Earlier, a BBC reporter said two explosive-laden drones targeting the air base were shot down by the U.S. C-RAM defense system early on Tuesday.
“The attempted attack was unsuccessful, all forces are accounted for,” Nafiseh Kohnavard quoted a Coalition official as saying.
“The attacks are against an Iraqi installation and the Iraqi forces that live and work here,” the official was quoted as saying.
The attack came just one day after two other explosive-laden drones were shot down by the C-RAM defense system at Baghdad airport.
The attacks coincided with the second anniversary of the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Hashid al-Shaabi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Soleimani and Muhandis were killed in a drone strike near Baghdad airport ordered by then-U.S. president Donald Trump two years ago.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Armed groups that some Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran have claimed responsibility for similar incidents in the past.
Footage provided by the coalition official showed what the official said was debris of two fixed-wing drones destroyed in the attack, with writing clearly visible on the wing of one drone reading “Soleimani’s revenge”.
*This story was updated at 11:07 a.m. EBL time
