Attacks by remote-controlled drones against US troops and the international coalition in Iraq were “deterred” and the drones were “shot down”, resulting in minor injuries, the US military said, amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement.

“During the past 24 hours, the US military has defended against three drones located near US and coalition forces in Iraq,” the joint Middle East Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release.

“In western Iraq, US forces opened fire on two drones, destroying one and damaging the other, resulting in minor injuries to coalition forces. In northern Iraq, U.S. forces destroyed a drone, with no injuries reported,” according to the CENTCOM statement, which did not specify who, or what organizations, owned the unmanned aerial vehicles.

In recent days, Iraqi armed groups close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq because of Washington’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas, which has now left thousands dead.

On social networking sites, the groups yesterday claimed responsibility for two separate drone attacks on Iraqi bases where US and international coalition forces are stationed.

The first attack was aimed, according to the organizations, at the Ain al-Assad base, in western Iraq, and the second at Al Harir, in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan (north).

Referring to this latest attack, the anti-terrorist service of Iraqi Kurdistan said that an “armed” drone crashed yesterday in a “desert” area, without causing any injuries.

Spread of war?

The drone strikes came a day after a hospital in Gaza was hit, killing hundreds, according to the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry.

Hamas blamed the strike on Israel, which in turn blamed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group, on a failed rocket launch by its fighters, on the eleventh day of the war that had triggered the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli territory.

Since Tuesday night, Iraqi organizations close to Iran have been accusing Israel and the US of committing a “massacre” in Gaza. One of them, the Hezbollah Brigades, demanded that the Americans “leave” Iraq, otherwise they will “taste the flames of hell.”

“At this time of heightened vigilance, we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region,” CENTCOM said Wednesday, assuring that it is ready to “defend” US and international coalition forces “against any threat.”

Until last year, bases hosting international coalition troops were the target of frequent rocket and drone attacks. However, since the summer of 2022, these attacks have subsided, as some stability has returned to Iraq.

In general, there were no claims of responsibility for these attacks. The US blamed organizations close to Tehran.

About 2,500 US troops and about 1,000 other coalition troops are currently stationed at three Iraqi military bases.