UK troops at Iraq base shot down Iranian drones, Healey says

British forces based in Iraq shot down two Iranian drones overnight, Defence Secretary John Healey has confirmed.

However, some drones hit the coalition base in the Iraqi city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, and injured a number of US troops.

Brigadier Guy Foden said the base and another in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad were struck "a number of times" on Wednesday night and British personnel are currently in Erbil helping to defend that base.

Since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, US bases in Iraq have been targeted in retaliation.

The Western base in Erbil is controlled by the US but often houses other coalition forces including British troops.

Foden said British forces "shot down two UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) coming out of the camp but a number of UAVs did impact the camp".

There were no British casualties in the attack.

Healey said from the point when Iran began "hitting back indiscriminately" at countries across the Middle East, there had been a British team involved in Iraq.

"We've had a team at the base in Erbil that's been pulling down drones, protecting themselves but also protecting the base and other service people that they serve with there," he said.

Healey was speaking during a visit to the UK's military headquarters in Northwood, north-west London, where he received a briefing on the latest situation on the Middle East.

The UK's chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Nick Perry, told Healey at the briefing that there were "definitively" signs of a link between Russia and Iran in the way attack drones are being used.

Healey later told reporters that Iranian drone attacks have the hallmark of the way Russia is attacking Ukraine, adding: "No one will be surprised to believe that Putin's hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics."

The defence secretary said Putin was the "one world leader" benefiting from the war because of higher oil prices, which he said help the Russian president with a fresh supply of funds for his brutal war in Ukraine.

Also overnight, Foden said the UK flew air combat patrols over Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to a "number of sorties" over Qatar.

RAF jets also continued to fly in defence of Cyprus with European allies in the region.

Healey added that the UK had clocked up more than 300 pilot flying hours over the last 13 days.

A British warship, HMS Dragon - which left the UK on Tuesday - was still on the way to the Mediterranean as of midday on Thursday.

Healey also thanked service personnel for their work.