US troops shoot down third drone over Iraq as Biden visits Israel
Coalition personnel suffered minor injuries after a thwarted drone attack on the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq's Anbar province, as Iran-backed factions continue threats to attack US forces over Washington's support for Israel's war in Gaza.
US troops at two separate bases in Iraq on Wednesday thwarted incoming drone attacks as President Joe Biden visited Israel in a show of support after the recent Hamas terror attacks in the country.
Before dawn on Wednesday, US personnel shot down an airborne one-way attack drone and damaged another near the Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq’s Anbar province. Coalition personnel sustained “minor injuries” in that attempted strike, the military said in a press release on Wednesday night.
The injuries included headaches and ringing in the ears in the aftermath of the attack, suggesting possible traumatic brain injuries similar to those sustained by US troops in previous strikes in the region, Al-Monitor has learned.
US officials did not say how many personnel were affected nor their nationalities. The coalition personnel took cover in bunkers amid the attack and sustained “scrapes and bruises” in the process, one official said.
