Forces at Iraqi Base Hosting US Troops Shoot Down Drone

Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base. AP file photo
Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base. AP file photo
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Forces at Iraqi Base Hosting US Troops Shoot Down Drone

Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base. AP file photo
Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base. AP file photo

Forces at Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US troops, intercepted and shot down a drone while it was hovering near the base early on Friday, US-led coalition and Iraqi security sources said.

The forces, using US air defense systems, shot down an armed unmanned aerial system entering the base at around 1:46 a.m. (2246 GMT), the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve, said on Twitter.

The incident, which is under investigation, caused no injuries or damage, the force said.

Iraqi officials were not immediately available for comment.



‘We Are Breaking the Bodies and Minds of Children of Gaza’, Says WHO Executive Director

 Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli army airstrike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli army airstrike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
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‘We Are Breaking the Bodies and Minds of Children of Gaza’, Says WHO Executive Director

 Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli army airstrike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli army airstrike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)

The minds and bodies of children in Gaza are being broken following two months of aid blockade and renewed strikes, the Executive Director of the World Health Organization Emergencies programs said on Thursday.

Since March 2 Israel has blocked the entry of medical, fuel, and food supplies into Gaza.

"We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza. We are complicit," Deputy Director General Michael Ryan told reporters at the WHO's headquarters.

"As a physician I am angry. It is an abomination," he said.

Israel says the decision to block the supplies was aimed at pressuring Hamas to free hostages as the ceasefire agreement stalled.

"The current level of malnutrition is causing a collapse in immunity," Ryan said, warning that cases of pneumonia and meningitis in women and children could increase.

Israel has previously denied that Gaza was facing a hunger crisis. It has not made clear when and how aid will be resumed.

Israel's military accuses Hamas of diverting aid, which Hamas denies.

The United Nations warned this week that acute malnutrition among Gaza's children was worsening.