U.S. Military Thwarts Drone Attack on Forces in Iraq
TEL AVIV, Oct 18 – The U.S. military successfully prevented an attack targeting its forces in Iraq earlier today by intercepting two drones before they could strike, according to two anonymous U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters.
The officials declined to reveal who they suspected of launching the attack, but it occurred at a time when the United States is on high alert for activity by Iran-backed groups due to the escalating tension in the region over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The attack drones were intercepted as they tried to strike Iraq’s al Asad air base, which is home to American troops, the officials stated.
This incident comes just hours after a strike on a Gaza hospital resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians. As U.S. President Joe Biden travels to Israel today to show support for the country’s war against Hamas, the stakes have been raised significantly.
Israel has attributed the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital to a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, although the group has denied responsibility.
Palestinian officials have accused Israel of conducting an air strike on the hospital, with the Palestinian Authority’s health minister claiming that Israel is responsible for a “massacre.”
Tensions in Iraq were already running high due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Last week, Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, condemned Israel and called on the international community to stand against the “terrible brutality” taking place in Gaza.
Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Clarence Fernandez