In a video released on 15/3, a first-person view (FPV) drone belonging to the armed group Kataib Hezbollah circled multiple times, seemingly searching for targets, over an area believed to be the Victory Base Complex at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. There were no signs of attempts to shoot down the device, nor were any soldiers or civilian personnel visible in the footage. The FPV drone then crashed into a reinforced concrete hangar, causing the signal to cut out.
US and Iraqi officials have not yet commented on the video.
An FPV drone attacks a building inside the Victory Base Complex (VBC) in a video released on 14/3. Video: *Al Jazeera*
The Victory Base Complex comprises several military facilities established by Washington around Baghdad International Airport. Victory Base, its central component, serves as the headquarters for US forces stationed in Iraq.
OSINTtechnical, an open-source intelligence account with 1.4 million followers on social media platform X, noted that this marks the first time an Iran-backed armed group has conducted an FPV drone attack in Iraq. The clear, uninterrupted imagery during flight also indicates that the FPV drone was connected to its operator via fiber optic cable.
Kataib Hezbollah is a member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a militia group with close ties to Iran. This organization has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks on US bases since the conflict erupted in the Middle East.
The US Embassy in Baghdad on 14/3 urged its citizens to leave Iraq immediately, citing "serious threats" from Iran-backed militia groups. The embassy building had previously sustained a drone attack, which completely destroyed its giraffe 1x counter-UAV radar.
 |
Smoke rises inside the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq on 14/3. *AFP*
The Middle East has been embroiled in conflict since the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on 28/2. Iran retaliated by launching missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into Israeli territory, at US bases in the Middle East, and targeting critical energy infrastructure in several Gulf nations.
FPV drones are primary weapons on the Ukraine battlefield. They are easy to produce and cost only a few hundred USD each, making them significantly cheaper than traditional guided weapons. Operators control them using head-mounted virtual reality devices, allowing them to see as if they were pilots in an aircraft cockpit. FPV drone attacks can injure or kill infantry, and even completely destroy heavy equipment like tanks and armored vehicles if they strike critical points.
Pham Giang (According to *Times Now, Al Jazeera, AP*)
