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According to US officials, the US military intercepted two attack drones targeting American troops in Iraq’s al Asad air base.

The officials, who preferred to remain anonymous, did not specify who was behind the attempted drone attack. However, the incident’s timing coincides with the US being vigilant about potential activities by Iran-backed groups in the region.

This drone interception comes shortly after a bombing on Gaza’s Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital. While Israel attributes the destruction to a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which has since denied any involvement, Palestinian authorities claim it was an Israeli airstrike. The Palestinian Authority’s health minister labeled the event as a “massacre.”

On a related note, Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, vocalized his condemnation of Israel last week and urged global intervention against the “terrible brutality” witnessed in Gaza.