Washington deploys Patriot missiles in Iraq

SANAA, March 31 (YPA) – The US occupation forces and so-called “international coalition” in Iraq on Monday reported that Patriot air defense missiles had been deployed at the Ain al-Assad air base in Anbar.

According to al-Mayadeen website, the US military has begun installing a Patriot missile system with its wing at the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar, and there are expectations that the Patriot systems will arrive in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

“Another battery has arrived at the Harir base, and two other batteries are still in Kuwait waiting to be transferred to Iraq,” Russia today quoted Rudaw as reporting.

“Senior Iraqi officials indicated during a meeting with US Central Command commander General Kenneth Mackenzie in February,that Washington could give Baghdad political cover, by reducing its numbers in Iraq with the deployment of defensive missiles,” informed officials he said.

The US-led international coalition has withdrawn its troops from several bases in recent weeks.

On Monday, the head of the government, Adel Abdul Mahdi, warned that “it is dangerous to carry out any act without the approval of the Iraqi government.”

E.M