Four Rockets Target Iraq’s Balad Airbase

 Balad Airbase in Iraq (File photo - Reuters)
Balad Airbase in Iraq (File photo - Reuters)
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Four Rockets Target Iraq’s Balad Airbase

 Balad Airbase in Iraq (File photo - Reuters)
Balad Airbase in Iraq (File photo - Reuters)

The Iraqi Security Media Cell said on Thursday that four rockets fell in open areas in Balad Airbase, leaving no damage or casualties.

The media cell stated that the authorities will hunt down the perpetrators of this “cowardly terrorist act”, reassuring Iraqi citizens that “the acts of criminal terrorist gangs will not pass unless the perpetrators are put behind bars and under the judgment of the law.”

Balad Airbase 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.

No group has claimed responsibility, but armed groups, that some Iraqi officials say are backed by Iran, have claimed similar incidents in the past.

Authorities will hunt down the perpetrators of this “cowardly terrorist act,” the cell affirmed, reassuring Iraqi citizens that “gangs that do not want stability for Iraq” will be held accountable.

Security sources revealed that the rockets were fired from towns in the vicinity of Tigris river in Khalis district, some 50 kilometers north of Baghdad.

They pointed out that the rockets targeted the headquarters of the US company, Sallyport, which houses foreign contractors affiliated with Lockheed Martin company.

Iraqi forces thwarted an attack by three drones targeting the Balad Airbase on January 15.

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



Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Meets HTS Leader in Damascus

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, Türkiye’s foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

Photographs and footage shared by the ministry showed Fidan and Sharaa, leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which led the operation to topple Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, walking ahead of a crowded delegation before posing for photographs.

The two are also seen shaking hands, hugging, and smiling.

On Friday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Türkiye would help Syria's new administration form a state structure and draft a new constitution, adding Fidan would head to Damascus to discuss this new structure, without providing a date.

Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Türkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, also visited Damascus on Dec. 12, four days after Assad's fall.

Ankara had for years backed opposition fighters looking to oust Assad and welcomed the end of his family's brutal five-decade rule after a 13-year civil war. Türkiye also hosts millions of Syrian migrants it hopes will start returning home after Assad's fall, and has vowed to help rebuild Syria.

Fidan's visit comes amid fighting in northeast Syria between Türkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northeast and Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.

Earlier, Türkiye’s defense minister said Ankara believed that Syria's new leadership, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in the northeast.

Ankara, alongside Syrian allies, has mounted several cross-border offensives against the Kurdish faction in northern Syria and controls swathes of Syrian territory along the border, while repeatedly demanding that its NATO ally Washington halts support for the Kurdish fighters.

The SDF has been on the back foot since Assad's fall, with the threat of advances from Ankara and Türkiye-backed groups as it looks to preserve political gains made in the last 13 years, and with Syria's new rulers being friendly to Ankara.