A military base in Kuwait hosting Italian forces was hit by an Iranian drone strike on Sunday, destroying an Italian-owned drone but leaving no injuries, the Italian Defense Ministry announced.
In an official statement, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto informed that an Iranian drone struck a shelter at Kuwait’s Al Salem base that housed an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the Italian Air Task Force.
“All Italian military personnel present at the base were safe and were not involved in the attack. I immediately informed the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers, and all leaders of the political parties — both in the majority and the opposition — of the incident, in order to ensure maximum transparency and a shared understanding of the situation,” the statement read in part.
Crosetto emphasized that the loss of the aircraft has no impact on the safety of the Italian military personnel deployed in the area which, he detailed, are carrying out collaborative activities with Kuwait and Italy’s Gulf Allies as part of the “Italian National Contingent Command Air – Task Force Air Kuwait,” an anti-ISIS initiative launched by Italy in 2014 that, according to Crosetto, is “currently making every effort to facilitate a de-escalation of the current situation.”
“In recent days, military personnel had already been reduced, leaving only essential personnel at the base. The loss of the aircraft has no impact on the safety of our military personnel deployed in the area,” Crosetto said.
Italy’s ANSA news agency reports that Sunday’s attack marked the fourth of its kind against a base housing Italian forces in the Middle East over the past two weeks.
ANSA, citing Chief of Defense Staff Luciano Portola, detailed that the destroyed Italian-owned unmanned aircraft was a “Predator/Reaper” drone that was “indispensable for carrying out operational activities and had remained deployed to ensure the continuity of operations.”
Speaking to SkyTG24, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that there is “no risk and no problem for our military” and stressed that Kuwait is a “military target for Iran because of the presence of U.S. bases in that country.”
“We will not be intimidated; we will honor our international commitments,” Tajani reportedly said.
“Italians are not a target for the Iranians,” the Foreign Minster asserted to Rai News, and reiterated that Italy is not at war.
Last week, an Italian military base in the town of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, was hit by a missile. Similar to Sunday’s attack at the base in Kuwait, the attack at the Erbil base left no injuries and only material damages.
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