Patriot anti-missile air defense systems are operating in Iraq and Kurdistan Region now to protect the US and Coalition forces, US officials confirmed.
Earlier in March, Washington announced that it was planning to deploy air defense systems to its bases in Iraq and Kurdistan Region, a decision which was apparently made after increasing threats of more attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
US officials told Washington Post on Saturday that Patriot missile launchers are now operating in Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, and in another US base in Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan Region.
Another short-range rocket defense system was installed at Camp Taji, central Iraq.
In early January, the US launched an airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iran’s most powerful military officer, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
In response, Iran fired dozens of Ballistic missiles at US bases in Anbar and Erbil. It was followed by a noticeable increase in the small rocket attacks by Shia militias at the US embassy and other military bases. They killed two US and one British personnel.