Drones strike US base in Iraq, Doha explosions, as Iran hits region in war

Iraqi forces have shot down a drone that attempted to attack a United States military base near Baghdad International Airport, local media have reported, as Iran continues to strike US assets in Arab countries, with the region plunging deeper into war after six days.

The drone attempted to target Victoria airbase overnight on Wednesday and was intercepted before it reached its target, according to the reports.

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Videos that emerged early on Thursday showed a drone crash in the Al-Bu’aitha area of Baghdad in the presence of security personnel.

In a separate incident later on Thursday, a boat struck an oil tanker flying the flag of the Bahamas in the Iraqi port of Khor al-Zubair, causing damage and an oil spill, an Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera.

The attacks occurred as tensions in the Middle East soared due to the ongoing conflict set off by the US and Israel launching a war on Iran.

Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that its air defence systems were intercepting a missile attack. Authorities in Qatar sent out an “elevated” emergency alert to residents as multiple explosions were heard in the skies above Doha.

The country’s interior ministry ordered the evacuation of residents living near the US Embassy in Doha as a precautionary measure.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from the Qatari capital, said the US Embassy compound occupies a “very large area” that is located “in the heart of the city”.

Basravi added that the US embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the US consulate in Dubai, were all targeted by drones this week.

In the United Arab Emirates, six people were injured by falling debris from drones that were intercepted by air defence systems over Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s media office said.

In a post on X, the office said authorities had responded to debris falling in two locations in the Industrial City (ICAD II) district. The affected individuals, who were nationals of Pakistan and Nepal, received minor to moderate injuries from the debris.

Air defences intercept a new wave of missiles and drones fired by Iran towards Qatar, on the 6th day since the US-Israeli war on Tehran started, March 5, 2026, Doha, Qatar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

New explosions were also heard in Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force said it destroyed 75 missiles and 123 drones “targeting the Kingdom since the start of the brutal Iranian aggression”, in a post on its Instagram account.

The reverberating violence has spread across the region, with attacks also reported in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.

The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the latest drone sent into its territory was shot down near the al-Jawf region, in the north of the country. This came after the ministry announced intercepting three drones east of al-Kharj governorate.

Oman’s Oil Marketing Company said one of its storage tanks was damaged in an “incident”, which preliminary assessments said was only minor. The company said operations at the affected site were taken offline, according to the Reuters news agency.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for an end to the war in a post on X. “Oman reaffirms its call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to responsible regional diplomacy,” he wrote. “There are off ramps available. Let’s use them.”

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said an explosion on board an oil tanker occurred outside its territorial waters, more than 60km (37 miles) from the Mubarak al-Kabeer port.

It said all crew were safe, but that the vessel had taken on water and that an oil spill could potentially cause ⁠environmental damage.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it fired 230 drones at several facilities hosting US troops in the Middle East, including a base in Erbil in northern Iraq and the Ali Al Salem airbase and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

The IRGC said the attacks were among its “first powerful steps” in the war, despite Iran having attacked Gulf Arab states for days since Israel and the US launched their coordinated offensive on Saturday.

President Masoud Pezeshkian directly addressed Iran’s neighbouring countries on Wednesday, saying Iran sought to avert war through diplomacy, but US-Israel attacks left it “with no choice” but to retaliate.

“We respect your sovereignty,” the president said in two separate posts in Arabic and Persian on X.

Iran believes security in the region must be achieved through a collective effort, he added.

As Iran’s retaliatory attacks continued, so has the Israeli-US assault on Iran.

In the face of the continued war, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned that European Union countries will “pay the price, sooner ⁠or later” if ⁠they remain silent over the joint attacks on Iran. Baghaei made the comments to Spanish broadcaster TVE.

There was little to indicate at this stage, however, that European assets will be targeted in the same manner as US and Arab ones have.