Iran has responded to the wave of US-Israeli airstrikes by launching retaliatory missile and drone attacks on multiple countries that host some of the tens of thousands of US troops deployed across the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf Arab states.
Bahrain
The tiny Gulf kingdom hosts an installation known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, where the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters are based.
Bahrain’s deep-water port accommodates the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used a base in the country since 1948 when the facility was operated by Britain’s Royal Navy.
A number of US ships, including anti-mine ships and logistical support ships, have their home ports in Bahrain.
Bahrain said the US Fifth Fleet service station, which is home to US naval forces in the region, was targeted by the missile attack. Video footage showed thick, gray smoke rising from near the island nation’s coast as sirens wailed.
Read more‘Prime moment for Hezbollah and Houthis’: US-Israeli attacks on Iran risk triggering regional war
Iraq
The United States still has troops in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State group, but their mission is due to end in September under an agreement between Washington and Baghdad.
US forces have already completed their withdrawal from facilities in federal Iraq – whose government is an ally of Iran but also a strategic US partner – under the same deal.
AFP journalists reported explosions near the US consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Saturday, while Iraq’s powerful pro-Iranian Kataeb Hezbollah group threatened to attack US bases.
Kurdish security forces later said the US-led coalition had intercepted multiple drones and missiles over Erbil.
Jordan
The United States has reportedly deployed dozens of military aircraft to Jordan’s Muwafak Salty Air Base ahead of the attack on Iran.
A Jordanian military official said the kingdom’s forces shot down two ballistic missiles aimed at its territory on Saturday, without specifying who fired them.
Jordan’s Directorate of Public Security later said “there were no casualties but only material damage”.
Read moreWe know about the US-Israeli joint airstrikes on Iran
Kuwait
Kuwait hosts several US bases, including Camp Arifjan, the site of the forward headquarters of the US Army unit of the military’s Central Command (CENTCOM). The US military also has stockpiles of equipment and supplies in the country.
Ali Al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military describes as “the primary airlift hub and gateway for the delivery of combat power to joint and coalition forces.”
The United States has deployed drones, including MQ-9 Reapers, to Kuwait.
Kuwait’s defense ministry intercepted missiles targeting the air base on Saturday, Italy’s foreign minister said, adding that the Iranian attack had caused “significant damage” to the facility’s runway, which also hosts Italian air force personnel.
A drone also targeted Kuwait’s international airport, causing minor injuries to several workers and limited material damage, Kuwait’s state news agency reported on Saturday.
Read moreLIVE: Iranian authorities urge residents of Tehran to leave the capital
Qatar
Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US facility in the region, houses CENTCOM’s forward units and the command’s air forces and special operations forces.
It also hosts rotational combat aircraft and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which the military says includes “airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and aeromedical evacuation assets.”
Iran fired missiles at Al-Udeid last June following US strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
Explosions were heard near central Doha and al-Udeid on Saturday, and the Gulf emirate said an Iranian missile attack targeted its territory.
Several Iranian cities were damaged by the US-Israeli military operation
It looks like one of your browser extensions is blocking the video player from loading. To view this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Syria
The United States has maintained troops in Syria for years as part of international efforts against the Islamic State group, which has emerged from the country’s civil war to overrun much of that country and neighboring Iraq.
US forces are currently in the process of withdrawing from Syria and three sources told AFP earlier this week that the US withdrawal would be complete within a month.
Four people were killed by an Iranian missile that hit the south of the country on Saturday, Syrian state media said.
United Arab Emirates
Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, which consists of 10 squadrons of aircraft and also includes drones such as MQ-9 Reapers.
Fighter jets have rotated through Al-Dhafra, which also hosts a US Air Force hub for “advanced air combat training”.
Two witnesses told AFP on Saturday that they saw smoke rising from the Al-Dhafra base shortly after explosions were heard in the UAE capital.
The UAE said it had intercepted two rounds of Iranian missile strikes on Saturday, with debris from the first wave killing a civilian in Abu Dhabi.
AFP reporters heard a large explosion in Dubai later on Saturday and one of them saw a plume of smoke rising from the city.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
(tags to translate)Middle East
