Drone targets US base in Iraq as Iran attacks hit region amid US-Israel war 

Iraqi forces have shot down a drone that attempted to target a United States military base near Baghdad International Airport, local media have reported, as Iran continues to strike US assets in Arab countries, with the region plunging deeper into war after six days.

The drone attempted to target Victoria airbase overnight on Wednesday and was intercepted before it reached its target, according to the reports.

Videos that emerged early on Thursday showed a drone crash in the Al-Bu’aitha area of Baghdad in the presence of security personnel.

The attack occurred as tensions in the Middle East are soaring due to the ongoing conflict set off by the US and Israel launching a war on Iran.

New explosions have been heard in Qatar and Bahrain on Thursday.

The reverberating violence has spread across the region, with attacks also reported in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.

The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the latest drone sent into its territory was shot down near the al-Jawf region, in the north of the country. This came after the ministry announced intercepting three drones east of al-Kharj governorate.

Oman’s Oil Marketing Company said one of its storage tanks was damaged in an “incident”, which preliminary assessments said was only minor. The company said operations at the affected site were taken offline, according to the Reuters news agency.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for an end to the war in a post on X. “Oman reaffirms its call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to responsible regional diplomacy,” he wrote. “There are off ramps available. Let’s use them.”

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said an explosion on board an oil tanker occurred outside its territorial waters, more than 60km (37 miles) from the Mubarak al-Kabeer port.

It said all crew were safe, but that the vessel had taken on water and that an oil spill could potentially cause ⁠environmental damage.

As tensions across the Middle East remain high, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior on Thursday ordered the evacuation of residents living near the US embassy in Doha as a precautionary measure.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from the Qatari capital, said the US embassy compound occupies a “very large area” that is located “in the heart of the city”.

“The area is home to so many families, there is a gas station, a shopping mall, it’s close to a highway,”  he said.

Basravi added that the US embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the US consulate in Dubai, have all been targeted by drones this week.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired 230 drones at several facilities hosting US troops in the Middle East, including a base in Erbil in northern Iraq and the Ali Al Salem airbase and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

The IRGC said the attacks were among its “first powerful steps” in the war, despite Iran having attacked Gulf Arab states for days since Israel and the United States launched their coordinated offensive on Saturday.

President Masoud Pezeshkian directly addressed Iran’s neighbouring countries on Wednesday, saying Iran sought to avert war through diplomacy, but US-Israel attacks left it “with no choice” but to retaliate.

“We respect your sovereignty,” the president said in two separate posts in Arabic and Persian on X.

Iran believes security in the region must be achieved through a collective effort, he added.