LONDON/NICOSIA — A British air force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a “suspected drone” on Sunday night, the UK’s Ministry of Defense has said. It said armed forces were responding to the attack at around midnight local time (22:00 GMT). There were no casualties in the suspected strike. “Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people,” the ministry said. British Defense Secretary John Healey earlier said ballistic missiles were fired toward Cyprus at around midnight, adding there were no casualties from the strike. The attack was confirmed by Cyprus, with a government spokesperson reporting an “incident” that happened at a British air base on the island nation’s southern coastline involved an “unmanned drone, which caused limited damage.” Spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the incident at RAF Akrotiri occurred shortly after midnight Monday. “Information received through various channels” pointed to a drone strike, Letymbiotis said, adding there were no details yet as regards “what sort of drone it was, where it came from, or how much damage it caused.” RAF Akrotiri is Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East and is a British sovereign territory. According to Letymbiotis, Cypriot authorities have enacted security protocols and are monitoring the situation in coordination with the UK and its two military bases in Cyprus. The attacks come after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK had agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites. The Cypriot government spokesman later said Starmer had “clearly confirmed that Cyprus was not a target” during a telephone call with the country’s president Nikos Christodoulides. In the early hours of Monday morning, the Sovereign Bases Administration confirmed that it was planning the “temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel” from theAkrotiri Station. The temporary dispersal notice would only apply to the military base, it said, adding that there was no need for residents to leave the nearby Akrotiri village. “All other locations, workplaces, businesses and facilities will remain open as normal and there are no restrictions in place,” the statement read. The latest conflict began on Saturday morning when Israel and the US launched a “massive” and ongoing attack against Iran’s leadership and military, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei among those killed. Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. On Sunday, an RAF Typhoon jet operating out of Qatar shot down an Iranian drone in a “defensive air patrol”. It was the first time a UK fighter had brought down an Iranian drone since the US and Iran strikes began. Earlier, a UK counter-drone unit in Iraq took down an Iranian drone that was heading toward a coalition base housing UK service personnel. However, Starmer said the UK had learned lessons from the “mistakes of Iraq”, and was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and would “not join offensive action now”. Starmer said the basis of the decision to accept the US request to use British military bases was the “collective self-defense” of allies and protecting British lives, accusing Iran of pursuing a “scorched-earth strategy”. The US is likely to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iranian missile sites, the BBC reports. — AgenciesLONDON/NICOSIA — A British air force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by a “suspected drone” on Sunday night, the UK’s Ministry of Defense has said. It said armed forces were responding to the attack at around midnight local time (22:00 GMT). There were no casualties in the suspected strike. “Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people,” the ministry said. British Defense Secretary John Healey earlier said ballistic missiles were fired toward Cyprus at around midnight, adding there were no casualties from the strike. The attack was confirmed by Cyprus, with a government spokesperson reporting an “incident” that happened at a British air base on the island nation’s southern coastline involved an “unmanned drone, which caused limited damage.” Spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the incident at RAF Akrotiri occurred shortly after midnight Monday. “Information received through various channels” pointed to a drone strike, Letymbiotis said, adding there were no details yet as regards “what sort of drone it was, where it came from, or how much damage it caused.” RAF Akrotiri is Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East and is a British sovereign territory. According to Letymbiotis, Cypriot authorities have enacted security protocols and are monitoring the situation in coordination with the UK and its two military bases in Cyprus. The attacks come after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK had agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites. The Cypriot government spokesman later said Starmer had “clearly confirmed that Cyprus was not a target” during a telephone call with the country’s president Nikos Christodoulides. In the early hours of Monday morning, the Sovereign Bases Administration confirmed that it was planning the “temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel” from theAkrotiri Station. The temporary dispersal notice would only apply to the military base, it said, adding that there was no need for residents to leave the nearby Akrotiri village. “All other locations, workplaces, businesses and facilities will remain open as normal and there are no restrictions in place,” the statement read. The latest conflict began on Saturday morning when Israel and the US launched a “massive” and ongoing attack against Iran’s leadership and military, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei among those killed. Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. On Sunday, an RAF Typhoon jet operating out of Qatar shot down an Iranian drone in a “defensive air patrol”. It was the first time a UK fighter had brought down an Iranian drone since the US and Iran strikes began. Earlier, a UK counter-drone unit in Iraq took down an Iranian drone that was heading toward a coalition base housing UK service personnel. However, Starmer said the UK had learned lessons from the “mistakes of Iraq”, and was not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and would “not join offensive action now”. Starmer said the basis of the decision to accept the US request to use British military bases was the “collective self-defense” of allies and protecting British lives, accusing Iran of pursuing a “scorched-earth strategy”. The US is likely to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for strikes on Iranian missile sites, the BBC reports. — Agencies
