Iraqi Army Thwarts Drone Attack on Military Airbase

Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)
Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)
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Iraqi Army Thwarts Drone Attack on Military Airbase

Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)
Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)

The Iraqi forces thwarted an attack by three drones targeting the Balad Airbase near Baghdad, a day after rockets were launched at the Green Zone and a number of military areas.

Three drones approached the southern perimeter of the Balad Air Base, some 90 km north of Baghdad, prompting the Iraqi forces to open fire on the drones and forcing them to flee the scene.

Militias and armed factions affiliated with Iran continue to attack foreign bases and US military sites throughout Iraq by drones, missiles, and explosive devices.

Balad Air Base houses Iraqi F-16, L-159, and T-6 fighter jets. It also includes facilities, equipment, and integrated spare parts to maintain these combat aircraft.

The Security Media Cell issued a statement announcing: "Early Saturday, three drones approached the southern perimeter of Balad Air Base in Salahadin province."

"The drones were spotted with the naked eye by force tasked with protecting the southern towers, and it they were recognized as enemy aircraft."

The Cell added that the three drones fled the scene after being targeted by the Iraqi forces.

Balad Air Base Commander Major General Zia Mohsen told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that three drones were seen approaching the base, and an order was issued to down them.

Mohsen noted that it was not possible to locate the exact launch location through the base's radar, but he affirmed that they were launched from a nearby place.

Authorities have not been able to stop these attacks or identify the factions and militias behind them.

Also, multiple rockets morning were fired Saturday at the Turkish Zilikan military base north of the Iraq province of Nineveh, causing no casualties.

Missile attacks targeted the base for months now. Reportedly, factions loyal to Iran who operate under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) umbrella in Nineveh are behind those attack.

The attacks often cause panic among the residents of the Yazidi-majority region, who complain that the illegal Turkish base in their area threatens their security.

Earlier on Thursday, rockets also landed in the Green Zone in Baghdad.

The Iraqi foreign ministry condemned the attack, affirming that it was committed to "providing security and protection to diplomatic missions."

The foreign ministry said that those who launched the rockets were currently being pursued by Iraqi security sources and would be punished "according to the law."

Iraqi MP Sherwan al-Duberdany called on the security forces to arrest the "terrorists" who launch missiles and cause terror in Bashiqa.

Duberdany told the Rudaw media network that the "frequent targeting by terrorists of Zilikan base."

The lawmaker warned that the "terrorist operations" are a dangerous indicator of the lack of stability and security of Nineveh.

He pointed out that Zilikan was attacked from the outskirts of Bashiqa district and within its administrative borders, which fall within the responsibility of the PMF 30th Brigade and the third brigade of the Iraqi army.



Palestinians Build New Lives in Cairo's 'Little Gaza'

The Hay al-Rimal restaurant in Cairo's 'Little Gaza' is named for the owner's former Gaza City neighborhood, now devastated by Israeli bombing. Khaled DESOUKI / AFP
The Hay al-Rimal restaurant in Cairo's 'Little Gaza' is named for the owner's former Gaza City neighborhood, now devastated by Israeli bombing. Khaled DESOUKI / AFP
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Palestinians Build New Lives in Cairo's 'Little Gaza'

The Hay al-Rimal restaurant in Cairo's 'Little Gaza' is named for the owner's former Gaza City neighborhood, now devastated by Israeli bombing. Khaled DESOUKI / AFP
The Hay al-Rimal restaurant in Cairo's 'Little Gaza' is named for the owner's former Gaza City neighborhood, now devastated by Israeli bombing. Khaled DESOUKI / AFP

Palestinian Bassem Abu Aoun serves Gaza-style turkey shawarma at his restaurant in an eastern Cairo neighborhood, where a growing number of businesses opened by those fleeing war have many dubbing the area "Little Gaza".
"It was a big gamble," said the 56-year-old about opening his restaurant, Hay al-Rimal, named after his neighborhood in Gaza City, now devastated by Israeli bombardment.
"I could live for a year on the money I had, or open a business and leave the rest to fate," he said.
So less than four months after fleeing with his family to neighboring Egypt from the besieged Palestinian territory, he opened his eatery in Cairo's Nasr City neighborhood, AFP said.
The establishment is one of the many cafes, falafel joints, shawarma spots and sweets shops being started by newly arriving Palestinian entrepreneurs in the area -- despite only being granted temporary stays by Egypt.
These spaces have become a refuge for the traumatized Gazan community in Cairo, offering a livelihood to business owners, many of whom lost everything in the war.
"Even if the war stops now in Gaza, it would take me at least two or three years to get my life back on track," Abu Aoun said.
'Wiped out'
"Everything has been wiped out there," he continued.
His patrons are mainly fellow Palestinians, chatting in their distinct Gazan dialect as they devour sandwiches that remind them of home.
On a wall next to his shop was a mural of intertwining Egyptian and Palestinian flags.
"I have a responsibility to my family and children who are in university," said the restaurateur, whose two eateries in Gaza have now been completely destroyed.
Abu Aoun and his family are among more than 120,000 Palestinians who arrived in Egypt between November last year and May, according to Palestinian officials in Egypt.
They crossed through the Rafah border crossing, Gaza's only exit point to the outside world until Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side in early May and closed it ever since.
Although Egypt insists it won't do Israel's bidding by allowing permanent refugee camps on its territory, it had allowed in medical evacuees, dual passport holders and others who managed to escape.
Many drained their life savings to escape, paying thousands of dollars a head to the private Egyptian travel agency Hala, the only company coordinating Gaza evacuations.
War broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas's surprise attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 43,374 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the UN considers reliable.
'Gaza's spirit'
Opening the restaurant was not an easy decision for Abu Aoun, but he says he's glad he did it.
"I'll open a second branch and expand," he said with a smile, while watching a family from Central Asia being served a traditional Gazan salad.
Nearby is Kazem, a branch of a decades-old, much-loved Gaza establishment serving iced dessert drinks.
Its Palestinian owner, Kanaan Kazem, opened the branch in September after settling in Cairo.
The shop offers ice cream on top of a drink sprinkled with pistachios, a Gazan-style treat known as "bouza w barad", which has become a fast favorite among the Egyptian patrons filling the shop.
"There's a certain fear and hesitation about opening a business in a place where people don't know you," said Kazem, 66.
But "if we're destined never to return, we must adapt to this new reality and start a new life", he said, standing alongside his sons.
Kazem hopes to return to Gaza, but his son Nader, who manages the shop, has decided to stay in Egypt.
"There are more opportunities, safety and stability here, and it's a large market," said Nader, a father of two.
Gazan patron Bashar Mohammed, 25, takes comfort in the flourishing Palestinian businesses.
"Little Gaza reminds me of Gaza's spirit and beauty and makes me feel like I'm really in Gaza," he said.
After more than a year of war, Gaza has become uninhabitable due to extensive destruction and damage to infrastructure, according to the United Nations.
"It'd be hard to go back to Gaza. There's no life left there," he said, taking a deep breath.
"I have to build a new life here."