Three drones attack US bases in Iraq as tensions flare after Gaza hospital airstrike

US coalition forces were injured in Iraq in a spate of drone attacks over the last 24 hours at US bases in Iraq as regional tensions flare following the deadly Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundredsTwo drones targeted a base in western Iraq used by US forces and one drone targeted a base in northern Iraq Associated Press reported US forces intercepted all three destroying two but only damaging the third which led to minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base according to a statement Wednesday by US Central CommandldquoIn this moment of heightened alert we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region US forces will defend US and coalition forces against any threatrdquo Central Command said in the releaseIranianbacked militias in Iraq have threatened to attack US facilities there because of American support for IsraelThe Islamic Resistance in Iraq an umbrella group of Iranianbacked militias issued a statement afterward claiming responsibility for the two attacks and saying it iquestheralds more operationsiquest against the ldquoAmerican occupationrdquoThe salvos came at a time of increasing tension and fears of a broader regional conflict in the wake of the latest HamasIsrael warSince the beginning of the war on October 7 much attention has been focused on Hezbollah the powerful Hamas ally across Israels northern border in Lebanon and its formidable arsenal The group has traded sofar limited strikes with Israel on the border in recent daysBut Iranianbacked militias in Iraq have also threatened to attack US facilities over American support for IsraelAlso read Mumbai Police arrest 4 college students for antiIsrael protest amid ongoing conflictldquoOur missiles drones and special forces are ready to direct qualitative strikes at the American enemy in its bases and disrupt its interests if it intervenes in this battlerdquo Ahmad Abu Hussein alHamidawi head of the Kataib Hezbollah militia said in a statement last Wednesday He also threatened to launch missiles at Israeli targetsFollowing Tuesday nights blast that killed hundreds at a hospital in Gaza the group issued another statement in which it blamed the US and its support for Israel for the catastrophe and called for an end to the US presence in Iraq Hamas has said the explosion in Gaza was from an Israeli airstrike while Israel has blamed a misfired rocket by Palestinian militantsldquoThese evil people must leave the country Otherwise they will taste the fire of hell in this world before the afterliferdquo the statement saidA US defence official who wasnt authorized to comment to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the attack on the alAsad military base in western IraqTashkil alWaritheen one of the Iranianbacked militias making up the larger group claimed responsibility in a statement for a second drone attack which it said had targeted the alHarir airbase in northern Iraq US officials did not immediately comment on the claim of a second attackThe government of the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq said an intercepted drone crashed in an open area near the village of Batas With inputs from AP