Italy pulls forces from Iraqi Kurdistan after drone attack

Shafaq News- Rome

Italy has begun withdrawing troops from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region after a drone strike targeted Camp Singara on March 12 without causing casualties among deployed forces, an Italian official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday, as security concerns grow amid the expanding Middle East conflict.

The official indicated that Italian forces have gradually reduced their presence at the base since the outbreak of the war on February 28. More than 300 troops had been stationed at Camp Singara; about 100 have returned to Italy, 70 moved to Jordan, and roughly 140 personnel remain in Erbil.

Rome has also relocated smaller military contingents from bases in Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, according to the official.

Cities across the Kurdistan Region have faced repeated rocket and drone attacks since the start of the US–Israeli war on Iran, with strikes hitting the Harir military base, Erbil International Airport, and headquarters of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq. The Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a US-based monitoring organization, reported more than 190 missile and drone attacks on the Region during that period.

Read more: Between war and neutrality: Kurdistan navigates US-Iran confrontation