Armed drone shot down over Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where US forces are stationed
An Iraqi security agency said it shot down an armed drone near the Erbil airport, where U.S. forces are stationed. The foiled attack is the latest on U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Iraqi forces shot down an armed drone on Tuesday over the Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where U.S. and other international forces are stationed, according to a report.
The Kurdistan Counter Terrorism, an Iraqi semi-autonomous regional security agency, said an "illegal militia" launched an armed drone against the Erbil airport that was shot down at approximately 09:52 a.m. local time, Reuters reported.
It is not immediately clear if the foiled attack caused any damage or casualties.
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 90 times since the start of the conflict. The Pentagon does not count attacks on U.S. warships at sea in this number.
The foiled attack comes just days after air defense systems shot down another drone over Erbil airport on Sunday evening. The "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" claimed that attack.
It also comes as the U.S. announced on Monday that it would be taking the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, which was moved to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, back to its home in Norfolk, Virginia.
The strike group includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, eight squadrons of attack and support aircraft, the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, and missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt.
The warships were moved to the Mediterranean as the Israel-Hamas war, which started in October, has provoked wider attacks in the Middle East on U.S. forces and commercial vessels.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, additional cruisers and destroyers in both the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and the recent arrival of the Wasp-class amphibious ship USS Bataan and Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Carter Hall in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea will remain in the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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