Drones target Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase: Military sources

Two armed drones on Tuesday targeted Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts US forces and other international forces in western Iraq, two Iraqi military sources told Reuters.

It is the first attack against US forces in Iraq since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against US troops.

No casualties have been reported, said the sources.

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An Iraqi military official said defense systems downed one drone near the base perimeter.

The attack came less than a week before an expected visit by a high level Iraqi military delegation to Washington to continue talks on ending the US-led military coalition in the country.

Washington and Baghdad in January initiated talks to reassess the draw-down of the US-led coalition in Iraq, formed in 2014 to help fight ISIS after the extremist group overran large parts of the country.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a projectile appears to have targeted the base, but without causing casualties.

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