ROME, March 12 (Reuters) – An Italian military base in Iraqi Kurdistan was hit overnight by an airstrike though no injuries were reported, the Italian defence officials said on Thursday.
The defence ministry initially spoke of a missile attack on the Italian base in Erbil, but ministry sources later said it was a drone that had destroyed a military vehicle, possibly by accident.
“There are no casualties or injuries among the Italian personnel. They are all fine,” the ministry said on X, shortly after midnight.
Ministry sources added that the drone may not have been fired at the Italian base intentionally, but rather hit it accidentally after losing altitude.
The commander of the base, Colonel Stefano Pizzotti, told the Sky TG24 broadcaster that military staff had been warned of aerial threats and had taken shelter in bunkers hours before the strike.
It was not known where the strike had come from, he said, adding that the air raid alert had finished but experts were still checking and securing the area.
Italy has around 300 troops stationed in Erbil training Kurdish security forces, the ministry said on its website.
However, Pizzotti said numbers had recently been reduced because of the danger from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, Angelo Amante, Claudia Cristoferi; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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