US military denies evacuation of contractors from Iraq’s Balad Air Base
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – 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.
The base was struck by three mortar shells on June 14, causing a brush fire on the base perimeter. No one was injured in the attack.
“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.
Reports emerged late on Friday that US forces had told Iraqi officials they are preparing to evacuate up to 400 Lockheed Martin Corp and Sallyport Global contractors working at the Balad base, 80 km north of Baghdad.
They were to be evacuated imminently by military plane over the course of 10 days, military sources told Reuters.
“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.
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.
Baghdad, an ally of both Washington and Tehran, is concerned any escalation could spill over into a proxy war on Iraqi soil. Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has ordered militias to halt their attacks and called on the military to catch the perpetrators.
Tensions between Iran and the US deepened on Thursday after Iran shot down a US drone over the Persian Gulf.
The situation has been gradually escalating since Trump decided to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed a raft of sanctions on Iran’s economy.
The US then deployed an aircraft carrier group, bombers, and hundreds more troops to the Persian Gulf, but insists it wants negotiations with Iran.
Washington has accused Tehran of attacking at least six tankers in the Persian Gulf and of continuing its nuclear weapons program. Iran denies any role in the recent tanker explosions and insists it is abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal.
The base was struck by three mortar shells on June 14, causing a brush fire on the base perimeter. No one was injured in the attack.
“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.
Reports emerged late on Friday that US forces had told Iraqi officials they are preparing to evacuate up to 400 Lockheed Martin Corp and Sallyport Global contractors working at the Balad base, 80 km north of Baghdad.
They were to be evacuated imminently by military plane over the course of 10 days, military sources told Reuters.
“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.
Baghdad, an ally of both Washington and Tehran, is concerned any escalation could spill over into a proxy war on Iraqi soil. Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has ordered militias to halt their attacks and called on the military to catch the perpetrators.
Tensions between Iran and the US deepened on Thursday after Iran shot down a US drone over the Persian Gulf.
The situation has been gradually escalating since Trump decided to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed a raft of sanctions on Iran’s economy.
The US then deployed an aircraft carrier group, bombers, and hundreds more troops to the Persian Gulf, but insists it wants negotiations with Iran.
Washington has accused Tehran of attacking at least six tankers in the Persian Gulf and of continuing its nuclear weapons program. Iran denies any role in the recent tanker explosions and insists it is abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal.