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US troops in Iraq and Syria ‘effectively sitting ducks’ as number of attacks rise to 92
Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East on ‘The Story.’
Iraqi forces shot down an armed drone on Tuesday over the Erbil airport in northern Iraq, where U.S. and other international forces are stationed, according to a report.
The Kurdistan Counter Terrorism, an Iraqi semi-autonomous regional security agency, said an “illegal militia” launched an armed drone against the Erbil airport that was shot down at approximately 09:52 a.m. local time, Reuters reported.
It is not immediately clear if the foiled attack caused any damage or casualties.
U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked more than 90 times since the start of the conflict. The Pentagon does not count attacks on U.S. warships at sea in this number.
HAMAS WAIVES ‘TOTALLY OFF BASE’ DEMAND FOR MONTHSLONG CEASE-FIRE IN ISRAELI HOSTAGE NEGOTIATION: REPORT
A picture taken on February 26, 2018 shows a road sign to Arbil’s International airport in the capital of Iraq’s autonomous northern Kurdish region. (SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images)
The foiled attack comes just days after air defense systems shot down another drone over Erbil airport on Sunday evening. The “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” claimed that attack.
It also comes as the U.S. announced on Monday that it would be taking the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group, which was moved to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, back to its home in Norfolk, Virginia.
USS GERALD R. FORD AIRCRAFT CARRIER HEADS HOME AFTER STANDING GUARD NEAR ISRAEL FOLLOWING OCT. 7 ATTACK
American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is seen from the air anchored in Italy in the Gulf of Trieste. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the largest warship in the world. (Andrej Tarfila/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The strike group includes the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, eight squadrons of attack and support aircraft, the Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, and missile destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney and USS Roosevelt.
The warships were moved to the Mediterranean as the Israel-Hamas war, which started in October, has provoked wider attacks in the Middle East on U.S. forces and commercial vessels.
A plane is seen at the Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq September 29, 2017. (REUTERS/Azad Lashkari)
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The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, additional cruisers and destroyers in both the Middle East and the Mediterranean, and the recent arrival of the Wasp-class amphibious ship USS Bataan and Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Carter Hall in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea will remain in the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.