Iraq probes drone attacks on military radar systems
Iraq will investigate suicide drone attacks on radar systems at two military bases, Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said on Tuesday, adding that Iraqi forces intercepted several other attempted incursions.
“Several small suicide drones targeted multiple Iraqi military sites and bases,” according to the spokesman. No casualties were reported.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and the government has not yet identified any perpetrators.
Numan described the attacks as “cowardly and treacherous”.
“The assault severely damaged radar systems at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, and Imam Ali Base in Dhi Qar Province” in southern Iraq, he added.
Iraqi forces also thwarted other attacks against “four additional sites across various locations”, Numan said, adding that the drones were downed “before they could reach their intended targets”.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the formation of “a high-level” committee to investigate the attacks and identify the perpetrators.
Earlier, a security source, requesting anonymity, told AFP that the first attack hit a radar system at the Taji base, and a few hours later, another drone struck the radars at the Imam Ali airbase in Dhi Qar.
A drone fell in the Radwaniya district, 10 kilometres west of Baghdad International Airport, the source said, where United States troops are deployed in a base as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.
No claim
The unidentified drone strikes came hours after Iran launched missiles at a US military facility in Qatar in retaliation for the US bombing of Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Following the Qatar attack, Israel said it had agreed to US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire, and Baghdad announced the reopening of its airspace, 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel war.
Security sources who confirmed the drone attacks to AFP could not name any perpetrators.
A source close to the Iran-backed Iraqi factions, who had in previous years hit bases hosting US troops, told AFP that “of course” the groups have nothing to do with the drone attacks. Another source from the factions suggested Israel and the US might be behind them.
A senior security official said, “We don’t know yet if the drones were launched from inside or outside Iraq.”
Iraq, which has for years navigated a delicate balancing act between its allies, Tehran and Washington, has long been a fertile ground for proxy battles.
Since the start of the Iran-Israel war, Baghdad has worked to prevent the violence from spreading onto its turf, especially due to growing fears over possible intervention by Iran-backed armed factions, who have threatened Washington’s interests should it join Israel’s campaign.
Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of stability after decades of devastating conflicts and turmoil.