Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq Attacked by Drones Ahead of Key Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A drone attack struck Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base, housing US troops, just days before a high-level Iraqi military delegation's anticipated visit to Washington to discuss the future of the American-led coalition in Iraq.
Explosions reverberated through the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq's Anbar province on Tuesday, following the assault by two drones, according to sources. No casualties or damages were rreportred.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which marks the second such incident since a pause in strikes on US bases earlier this year.
"In April, two drones were intercepted near Ain al-Asad," a US official confirmed.
Recent months have seen a surge in attacks on US military installations in Iraq and neighboring Syria, largely attributed to groups aligned with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
The timing of Tuesday's attack is particularly sensitive, preceding crucial talks in Washington next week aimed at determining the trajectory of the US-led coalition's presence in Iraq.
Earlier this year, Baghdad and Washington established a committee to initiate discussions on a phased withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, a move reiterated by Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani.
Iraqi resistance factions have long advocated for the departure of foreign troops, a sentiment reignited by the US-led coalition's continued presence since the defeat of the Daesh terrorist group in 2017.
Despite the Iraqi parliament's 2020 vote calling for the expulsion of US forces, approximately 2,500 American troops remain in Iraq, along with 900 in Syria, under the guise of anti-Daesh operations.
The tensions escalated in early 2020 with the assassination of Iran's top anti-terror commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis in a drone strike near Baghdad's airport, ordered by former US president Donald Trump.