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| Iraq | ||
| US said readying to evacuate contractors from Iraqi base due to security threat UPDATE: US, Iraq deny | ||
| 2019-06-22 | ||
The staff are working for Lockheed Martin Corp and Sallyport Global at the air base which houses US forces some 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. The sources did not give any further details about the security threats but said around half of the 800 contractors on site would be evacuated, with one saying the operation would take 10 days. Two other military sources said the evacuation would use military aircraft. US assets in Iraq have been targeted frequently over the past week amid a tense standoff between Baghdad’s key allies, Washington and Tehran.
[Rudaw] Media claims that US contractors at Iraq’s Balad Air Base are being evacuated following recent mortar attacks are “categorically false”, a US military official said Saturday. “Operations at Balad Air Base are continuing as normal. Claims that personnel are being evacuated are categorically false. There are no plans at this time to evacuate any personnel from Balad,” said US Air Force Colonel Kevin Walker in a statement. “The safety and security of all Air Force personnel and those that provide services to the US Air Force are constantly evaluated, and should there be increased threats to our people, the US Air Force will put measures in place to provide the protections required,” Walker added. “We are not evacuating Lockheed Martin employees right now from Balad Air Base,” a spokeswoman for Lockheed in the Middle East told Reuters. She did not say whether other evacuations were planned. A top Iraqi air force commander, Gen. Falah Fares, told AP security has been stepped up and a curfew imposed at the base to reduce “all unnecessary movements”. The mortar attack on Balad Air Base was followed on June 18 by a strike on Taji Military Base, which also hosts US personnel. Three Katyusha missiles struck the base, 85 km north of Baghdad, which is home to Iraq’s US-made F-16 fighter jets. On May 19, a Katyusha rocket also struck Baghdad’s Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi parliament and the sprawling US Embassy compound. Basra oil installations used by US oil giant ExxonMobil also come under rocket fire on June 19, injuring three Iraqi workers. Several foreign ExxonMobil engineers were evacuated in May. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Iran-backed Shiite militias are thought to be the culprits. The US has already announced the evacuation all non-emergency staff from its diplomatic missions in Baghdad and Erbil in response to an unspecified Iranian threat. Iraq denies evacuation of American trainers from Baghdad air base Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi authorities denied on Saturday media reports that American trainers would be evacuated from an air base, north of the capital, Baghdad, over potential security threats. In a press statement, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, stressed that all reports circulated on social media websites about the evacuation of U.S. contractors and security advisers from the Balad Air Base in Baghdad are “groundless”. Rasool further added that Iraqi troops are responsible for “protecting all (U.S.) military bases and maintaining the safety of advisers.” “We protect Iraqi military bases to ensure the safety of our fighters, as well as the safety of U.S. advisers and trainers, and other coalition forces,” the spokesman added. | ||
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 'Mortaritaville', a GI euphemism for LSA Anaconda near Balad Iraq. Very bad neighborhood. An unpleasant place, even without enemy fire. The burn pit was and may still be absolutely appalling. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2019-06-22 07:47 |