Network “quoted CNN ” warnings of experts and current and former officials of the unmanned Iranian drone capable of launching attacks “more accurate” and exceeded US reconnaissance systems, what constitutes a “threat” to US forces in the region.
The network said that the recent airstrikes against Iranian-backed militias on the Syrian-Iraqi border, on the night of Sunday, Monday, came after a series of recent attacks against US military interests in Iraq by “a new class of Iranian-made drones that US officials say can escape from American surveillance systems and defenses.
A US military official told the network that the latest of these attacks took place earlier this month when a booby-trapped drone exploded at Baghdad airport in an area used by US soldiers and diplomats.
And last April, a drone damaged a hangar of US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) drones near Erbil.
US intelligence officials and the US military in Iraq have been warning for months of the danger that these newest and most advanced Iranian drones pose to US forces.
CNN says that these planes do not rely on being directed by a pilot from a remote location, but some small fixed-wing aircraft use the Global Positioning System (GPS), which makes them “less visible” to US surveillance systems.
“Suffice it to say that the ‘CIA’ is now paying a great deal of attention to this issue because these things are disturbing,” said a former intelligence official with experience in the region.
While missile attacks against American personnel in Iraq have become almost routine, these new Iranian drones, “dubbed suicide drones,” are seen by the intelligence and military as a “clear escalation” by Iran, according to the network report.
The new explosive-filled planes come in different sizes with a capacity to carry up to 30 kg of explosives.
These sources say it is more dangerous. A US military official said it was “more lethal because it is more accurate”.
“What we used to do in the past is try to jam the link between the person driving it and the plane or seize it,” the former intelligence official said. “But now they’re sending it to the GPS and there’s no link, there’s nothing to disrupt or seize.”.
A spokesman for the US mission in Iraq confirmed to CNN that these smaller aircraft are “increasingly used by enemy forces to gather intelligence about US and allied bases.”
Unlike missiles, which must be launched close to a target, drones can fly much farther and can be launched from anywhere, and larger aircraft can fly from the back of a pickup truck, according to technical sources.
The commander of the US Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, said earlier this year that “drones are the biggest threat to US forces in the region.”
The report says that although officials do not necessarily believe that those who directed the Erbil attack on the “CIA” hangar knew that the hangar belonged to the Agency, the attack “remains a worrying escalation”, and the hangars are high-value targets regardless of the agency. government-owned, according to the report.
These drones have been used in at least five attacks since April, although in some cases, the aircraft hit its target or was shot down by US defenses.
And the US Department of Defense announced that it had launched raids on Iranian-backed militia sites on the Syrian-Iraqi border, on the night of Sunday, Monday, “in response to drone attacks launched by these factions on Americans and American facilities in Iraq,” and said that the army targeted “weapons operating and storage facilities at two locations in Iraq.” Syria and a location in Iraq.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the strikes were “a reaction and an important message to those behind the recent attacks against American interests.”
A spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve of the international coalition to combat ISIS, Wayne Maroto, said that on Monday evening, US forces in Syria were subjected to “multiple missile attacks.”
