Drone Attack on US Forces Foiled West of Baghdad

The remains of the wreckage of a drone are seen at Baghdad airport, Baghdad, Iraq, January 3, 2022. (Coalition official/Handout via Reuters)
The remains of the wreckage of a drone are seen at Baghdad airport, Baghdad, Iraq, January 3, 2022. (Coalition official/Handout via Reuters)
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Drone Attack on US Forces Foiled West of Baghdad

The remains of the wreckage of a drone are seen at Baghdad airport, Baghdad, Iraq, January 3, 2022. (Coalition official/Handout via Reuters)
The remains of the wreckage of a drone are seen at Baghdad airport, Baghdad, Iraq, January 3, 2022. (Coalition official/Handout via Reuters)

Two explosive-laden drones were shot down on Tuesday by Iraq's air defenses as they approached the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US forces, west of Baghdad, an official of the US-led international military coalition said.

A similar attack was foiled on Monday, when Iraqi air defenses downed two drones as they approached a base hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport.

The attacks came as Iran and its allies in Iraq marked the second anniversary of the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

The United States is leading the international military coalition fighting ISIS militants in Iraq and in Syria.

Soleimani was killed on Jan. 3 2021, in a drone strike near Baghdad airport ordered by then-US president Donald Trump.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that Trump must face trial for the killing or Tehran would take revenge.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.