Iraq: Air Defence system intercepts two drones trying to attack Ayn al Asad

Iraqi Armed Forces, on June 6, said that they have taken down two drones that attempted to attack its Ayn al-Asad airbase, located in the western part of the country. According to state-run media outlet INA, the drones were intercepted by the military’s Air Defense System at 12:30 am Saturday. As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the attempted strike.

"The air defence system at Ain Al-Assad Air Base in Anbar Governorate, at 0030 on June 6, confronted two drones and managed to shoot them down," INA quoted Iraq’s Security Media Cell as saying.

Ayn al-Asad airbase is the only station that houses foreign troops in Iraq and has been frequently targeted by attacks. However, in the lights of a recent parliamentary decision, the US has agreed to pull its troops out of Iraqi territory. The parliamentary decision was supported by the country's PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi who touted that the potential of armed forces has increased significantly and soon they would not need the foreign troops to aid their defence. 

Second attack in the day 

This comes as three civilians were killed and two injured on June 5, after a Turkish missile attacked a UN-supported Kurdish refugee camp in Northern Iraq. The aerial attack came days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to “clean up” the district of Makhmur calling it an “incubator for terrorists” of Qandil, a mountain range noted for being the headquarters of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).  “If the United Nations does not clean up this district, we will take care of it in our capacity as a UN member state,” Erdogan had said in Ankara earlier this week . 

Ankara, along with Iranian Revolutionary Guards, frequently bombards the Qandil ranges as a part of its ongoing conflict with PKK, which seeks the foundation of an independent Kurdish state. Additionally, since the mid-1990s, it also maintains several military bases in Northern Iraq pertaining to an agreement inked with now-dead Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussain. On the other hand, PKK  maintains camps across Northern Iraq, which it allegedly uses as a base to attack southeast Turkey.

File Image: AP