BAGHDAD, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces on Wednesday said that they opened fire on unknown drones while flying above one of its headquarters in Iraq's central province of Salahudin.
The drones flied on Wednesday morning above Hashd Shaabi's 35th Brigade in Salahudin province, prompting the Hashd Shaabi's anti-aircraft weapons to open fire on them and forced the drones to withdraw to unknown destination, Qahttan al-Bawi, head of Salahudin's Hashd Shaabi intelligence, said in a statement.
In has not immediately identified who sent the drones.
During the past weeks, several similar incidents took place in Hashd Shaabi depots in central and western Iraq. The incidents were mainly believed to be attributed to attacks by unknown aircraft.
The repeated explosions on Hashd Shaabi arms depots pushed the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who is also commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, ordered in mid-August that all military flights, including reconnaissance aircraft, are prohibited from using the Iraqi airspace without his permission.
