US-led Coalition Shoots Down 2 Armed Drones Targeting Baghdad Airport

Two armed drones targeting forces of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State stationed at Baghdad airport were shot down on Monday by coalition forces. The attacking drones were described as “fixed-wing suicide drones, or improvised cruise missiles.” No damage was reported, but Iraqi officials have opened an investigation into the incident. The attack came two years after a US drone strike near the airport killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as an Iraqi ally of Iran, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy leader of the Hashed al-Shaabi coalition of armed groups. Photos show remains of one of the projectiles from Monday’s attempted strike, with the message “Commanders’ revenge operations” written on it.