DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U. S. Air Force is a major player. The U. S. military said Saturday it is the subject of a “propaganda attack” through an unprecedented Iraqi militant organization that falsely claimed to have introduced a drone strike on U. S. troops at an air base in Kuwait.
The Air Force’s 386th Air Expeditionary Wing arrived hours after the organization calling itself Al-Waretheen, or “The Heirs,” issued an online statement claiming that on Aug. 12 it targeted the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait. It included a video. appearing a drone introduced from a booth, but without evidence of attack or damage to the base.
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They claimed the alleged attack was aimed at avenging the U. S. drone strike. The US killed a prominent iranian Revolutionary Guard member, General Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad in January 2020.
The airbase is a few dozen kilometers (miles) from the Iraqi border.
“Disinformation falsely stated that an Iranian militia organization used (drones) to carry out an attack on the base,” the Air Force told The Associated Press. “There have been no such attacks. “
He suggests that the U. S. The US believes that Al-Waretheen is probably an Iranian group, although it describes itself as Iraqi.
The Air Force added that the online claim “only aims to lie to its audience so that it creates a lie” and that the Air Force and Kuwait “continue to assign air forces to the region without interruption. “
Kuwait, a small oil-rich country that borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia and is also close to Iran, is America’s best friend outside of NATO. Kuwait and the United States have maintained a close military partnership since the United States introduced the Gulf War in 1991 to expel Iraqi troops after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the country.
Some 13,500 U. S. troops are stationed in Kuwait, which houses the front headquarters of the U. S. Army Headquarters. USA These forces supported the U. S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and upcoming operations against the Islamic State group.
Kuwait did not acknowledge the alleged attack. Its data ministry did not respond to a request for comment Saturday night.
Planet Labs PBC satellite images analyzed by the AP since Aug. 12 show no obvious damage to the base.
A number of militant teams that analysts say have ties to Iran have claimed duty for attacks they say have targeted U. S. troops in Iraq in recent years. However, those road bombardments targeted Iraqi contractors offering U. S. forces in the country.
The claim also comes as what has been described as the latest of negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers continues.
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www. twitter. com/jongambrellAP.
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