Drone targeting Iraq base hosting US forces shot down

BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON: Defence systems at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US forces, shot down an armed drone near the base on Thursday and there were no casualties, two Iraqi army sources said.

Earlier too, US-related facilities have been under drone radars. A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The drone, which was launched at the Erbil air base by an Iranian-backed militia before sunrise on Oct. 26, penetrated US air defenses and crashed into the second floor of the barracks housing American troops at about 5 a.m, according to two US officials familiar with the matter. But the device laden with explosives failed to detonate and in the end only one service member suffered a concussion from the impact, said the officials, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely about the attack. The US had got lucky, they added, as the drone could have caused carnage had it exploded.

The incident was among at least 40 separate drone and rocket attacks that have been launched at US forces by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria over the past three weeks in response to American support for Israel in the Gaza war, according to Pentagon data and the two US officials. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday that the US will hit targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups again if needed, after the US military hit a facility in Syria following a wave of attacks on American and coalition troops there and in Iraq.Israeli Forces Fight HamasIn Gaza, Israeli forces fought Hamas militants among ruined buildings in the north of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, inching their way closer to two big hospitals as the plight of civilians in the besieged territory of Palestine worsened. Thousands more Palestinians were fleeing from the embattled north to the south along a perilous frontline path after Israel told them to evacuate, residents said. But many are staying in the north, packed into the Al Shifa Hospital and al-Quds Hospital as ground battles rage around them and more Israeli air strikes rain down from above. Israeli forces say that Hamas’ foes have command centres embedded in the hospitals.

In Doha, the heads of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency met with the prime minister of Qatar to discuss a possible deal for hostage releases and a pause in fighting, a source said. There were no details on how the talks went. Qatar has served as a mediator with Hamas in the past.

In Paris, officials from about 80 countries and organisations were meeting to coordinate humanitarian aid to Gaza. “Without a ceasefire, the haemorrhage of human lives will continue,” said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.