UK soldiers attacked and US troops injured as Iran launches attack on military base | World | News
Western troops were targeted in a drone strike last night and several US soldiers are also thought to have been injured. The attack, suspected to have been launched from Iran, hit Iraqi cities and bases in Erbil and Baghdad on Wednesday night.
Lieutenant General Nick Perry, Chief of Joint Operations, who is tasked with command of global operations, confirmed the attack on the base where British personnel assisting with the defense in Erbil are located. He confirmed that British forces managed to shoot down two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) but others hit the base. “We’re doing some really important work in Iraq as well,” he told Defense Secretary John Healey in a highly staged briefing before the media.
“As we stated before, both Erbil and Baghdad were hit many times last night and we see increased coordination in these attacks.
“We currently have personnel in Erbil helping defend the base.
“They shot down two UAVs that approached the camp last night. Some other UAVs also impacted the camp but there were no British casualties. So their operations have been fairly continuous since the situation began.”
Brigadier Guy Foden added that the UK had flown combat air patrols over Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, as well as “a number of sorties” over Qatar, and confirmed that British pilots had logged 300 hours of flying since the start of the conflict.
Following the US-Israeli attacks, Iran warned ships not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, causing heating oil prices to double last week.
To the question of whether the UK would be ready to participate in the patrol mission in the straits, Mr. healey He said: “First of all, these are early days.
“Reports are emerging that Iran is mining in the Straits. The number of commercial ships attacked and evidence are emerging.
“The two things that I think are most important are, number one, recognizing the huge impact this could potentially have on oil prices and the cost of living for people around the world.
“There is an international imperative and incentive to try and see this resolved.
“Big steps like record releases of reserve oil help but don’t solve the problem.
“Secondly, it reflects the realism that it is extremely difficult to clear any aquatic mines in conflict conditions, and therefore the fact that I have had some mine-clearing autonomous systems in the area since before the conflict, in part, in addition to the additional options that I have discussed with our planners as Minister of Defence, of course.
“In the end, this situation will likely be resolved as quickly as possible, and the Straits will likely be opened quickly, with conflict waning, greater stability and trust in the region, and a willingness to work together among all nations who want to see the statues reopened.”
