US Air Force targeted in ‘propaganda attack’ by Iraqi militant group in Kuwait
- The group, calling itself Al-Waretheen, put out an online statement claiming that on August 12 it targeted Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base
- ‘The misinformation falsely stated an Iranian militia group used (drones) to carry out an attack on base,’ the US Air Force said. ‘No such attack occurred’
The US Air Force said Saturday it was the subject of a “propaganda attack” by a previously unheard-of Iraqi militant group that falsely claimed it had launched a drone attack targeting American troops at an airbase in Kuwait.
The statement by the Air Force’s 386th Air Expeditionary Wing came hours after the group calling itself Al-Waretheen, or “The Inheritors,” put out an online statement claiming that on August 12, it targeted Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base. The statement included a video showing a drone being launched from a stand, but offered no evidence of an attack or any damage done at the base.
The statement claimed the alleged attack aimed to avenge the US drone strike that killed prominent Iranian Revolution Guard General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020.
The airbase is located a few dozen kilometres from the Iraqi border.
“The misinformation falsely stated an Iranian militia group used (drones) to carry out an attack on base,” the US Air Force statement to Associated Press said. “No such attack occurred.”
The statement suggests the US believes that Al-Waretheen is probably an Iranian group, though it described itself as Iraqi.
