Drone strikes target radar systems at 2 military bases in Iraq

Drone strikes targeted radar systems at two military bases near Baghdad and in southern Iraq early today, according to security officials, though the party responsible remains unknown.

The first attack hit Al-Taji Camp, north of the Iraqi capital, without causing any casualties, officials confirmed. Lieutenant General Walid Al-Tamimi, commander of Baghdad Operations, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that “an unidentified drone targeted a site in Al-Taji Camp,” adding that “there were no human losses.” 

Saad Maan, head of the Security Media Cell affiliated with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, told reporters that “an unidentified drone bombed the radar, while another drone crashed near an electricity generator.”

READ: Iran launches missile attacks at US airbase in Qatar

A security source confirmed the incident to AFP, adding that another drone had fallen in agricultural land in the Al-Radwaniyah area, west of Baghdad, approximately ten kilometres from Baghdad International Airport, where a base housing US forces belonging to the international coalition against the Islamic State group (Daesh) is located.

The source also reported that “a drone targeted the communications centre, which contains the radar systems of Imam Ali Air Base” near the city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province, southern Iraq. The strike caused “material damage but no injuries.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks. A source close to Iranian-aligned Iraqi armed factions told AFP that these groups were not involved in the strikes on the two military bases in central and southern Iraq.

This security development came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that Iran and Israel had agreed to a “complete ceasefire” to begin around 4 a.m. GMT on Tuesday, marking what he called a “formal end” to the 12-day war between the two countries.

READ: Iran launches unprecedented missile strike on Israel, causing heavy casualties and extensive damage