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US admits using military base in UAE to strike Syria, Iraq

August 30, 2017 at 12:43 pm

Image of a US air base [Osakabe Yasuo/Flickr]

The United States military is using an air base in the United Arab Emirates to target sites in Iraq and Syria, military website DoD Buzz reported.

The Al Dhafra Air Base, approximately 20 miles south of the capital Abu Dhabi, is being used to counter the threat from Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The US and UAE forces have created a special Air Combat Command unit at the base, known as the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

The unit functions its own intelligence analysis and control centre known as “Kingpin”.

Military.com spoke to members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing this summer with strict guidelines not to disclose sensitive information. Not much else is known about the United States functioning of the air base.

The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing was established in January 2002, although the US had a role in the air base for 25 years.