Iraqi Gov’t Orders All Military Bases to Target Any Unidentified Drone

The Arabic-language website of Sputnik quoted Athir al-Shar’e as saying that meetings have been held between leaders of the 3 branches of power in Iraq and Hashd al-Shaabi commanders to study results of attacks on Iraqi popular forces.

He added that secret investigations have shown that several sides and possibly a country not far from Iraq’s borders have collaborated in the attacks, noting that the Iraqi government has ordered all bases to destroy any unidentified drone over the country’s sky.

Al-Shar’e underlined that the three branches of power in Iraq have condemned the attacks against Hashd al-Shaabi that are operating under the supervision of the general command of the Iraqi Armed Forces.

Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi forces in a statement announced that Israeli drones backed by the US aircraft pounded their positions near the border with Syria.

The Hashd al-Shaabi in a statement reported that two Israeli drones struck its military positions in Akashat-Alqaem Road in al-Anbar province 15 kilometers from the border with Syria.

The statement noted that the attack has taken place with the aerial support of the US and monitoring of a huge surveillance balloon near the site of the attack, and said that the attack took place with the start of the Phase 4 of Eradeh al-Nasr (the Will of Victory) military operation jointly conducted by the Iraqi Army, Police Force and Hashd al-Shaabi against the ISIL remnants in the Western part of the country.

It noted that a Hashd al-Shaabi member was killed and another was wounded in the Israeli drone attacks.

Meantime, Hashd al-Shaabi commander Hadi al-Jazayeri told the Arabic-language al-Ma’aloumeh news website that the continued drone attacks on Hashd al-Shaabi’s military positions will be given a harsh response by Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces as already warned by his deputy Abu al-Mahdi al-Mohandes.

Al-Jazayeri pointed to the defeat of the US-Israeli plots targeting Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq and the region, and said that such defeats have resulted in Israeli drone attacks on Hashd al-Shaabi’s military positions.

Al-Jazayeri also warned that any flight taking place over Iraqi sky and without the permission of the Iraqi government is regarded an act of aggression.

In a relevant development on Sunday, Hashd al-Shaabi downed a spy drone over Nineveh province.

The Arabic-language Sumeriyeh News website quoted an Iraqi security source as saying that the intelligence forces of Hashd al-Shaabi Brigade 50 in Nineveh Province identified and shot down a reconnaissance drone over its headquarters in Nineveh province.

Hashd al-Shaabi had earlier downed another spy drone over Baghdad airspace.

Hashd al-Shaabi traced and targeted a spy drone over one of its centers near Baghdad.

The Hashd al-Shaabi in a statement on Thursday announced that the air defense systems of the popular forces’ Brigade 12 has intercepted a spying drone over its center in Baghdad.

The statement said that Hashd al-Shaabi prevented the hostile aircraft from conducting its reconnaissance mission.

In a relevant development on Thursday, second-in-command of Hashd al-Shaabi Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, held the United States fully responsible for recent attacks on the volunteer forces.

He said in a statement that the US, which has contributed to the emergence of terrorist groups in the Middle East, is now considering various ways to violate Iraq’s sovereignty and targeting the Hashd al-Shaabi .

“We have accurate and credible information that Americans brought in four Israeli drones this year via Azerbaijan to operate within the US fleet to carry out sorties aimed at Iraqi military headquarters. We also have other information, maps and recordings of all types of American aircraft, when they took off, when they landed and the number of hours they flew,” al-Mohandes pointed out.

“Instead of chasing Daesh terrorists, US military aircraft are collecting information and data concerning the brigades of Popular Mobilization Units, and their warehouses and arms depots,” the statement added.

Sayf al-Badr, the spokesman of the Iraqi Health Ministry, said in a statement that at least one person was killed and 29 others were wounded in a powerful explosion, which rocked a military base in Southern Baghdad on August 12.

An unnamed source from Iraq’s Interior Ministry stated that an ammunition warehouse exploded inside a federal police military base, named Falcon, in Owerij area near the Southern district of Doura.

The source added that the blast was followed by a series of explosions at the warehouse that sent a large amount of shrapnel to nearby houses.