Canberra, March 18: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that an Iranian missile struck near an airbase in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Australian troops are stationed. Fortunately, no personnel were injured in the incident.
Albanese informed reporters that the missile impacted a route leading to the Al Minhad Airbase, located south of Dubai. He stated, “I can confirm that no Australian personnel were harmed, and everyone is safe at this time.”
The missile attack caused minor damage to a residential block and a medical facility due to a fire that broke out. The Australian Defence Force has been using Al Minhad Airbase as its operational headquarters since 2003, but only a small number of security forces are currently deployed there following the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Albanese noted that the Iranian regime has been involved in “ongoing attacks” in the Gulf region. Earlier, on March 5, he confirmed that Australia had deployed military resources to the Middle East to assist in the repatriation of its citizens.
While addressing Parliament, Albanese mentioned that the government had sent military assets to the region to help Australians stranded due to the ongoing conflict. According to local media, the deployed military resources included a transport aircraft and a refueling plane.
The Australian government also announced that six crisis response teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade would be deployed to the Middle East to provide additional consular assistance to citizens.
As of March 11, over 3,200 Australian citizens had returned home through 23 commercial flights. Albanese previously indicated that approximately 115,000 Australians are currently in the Middle East, with around 24,000 residing in the UAE.
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Arpit Soni has had a passion for journalism since the beginning. Now he has turned this hobby into his profession. Arpit, who is a resident of Udaipur, enjoys editing and writing news related to journalism. He has worked as a Senior Content Producer in several important roles at Bhaskar, Patrika, Pratahkal, Punjab Kesari, and Times. Arpit completed his schooling in Udaipur and Jaipur. He has been working in the media industry for more than 10 years, and his journey is still continuing. ✍️📚
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