Radio Brisvaani
Canberra, March 18 (IANS) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday confirmed that an Iranian projectile struck near an air base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where Australian soldiers are stationed, but that no personnel were injured.
Albanese told reporters on Wednesday that the projectile hit a road leading to the Al Minhad Air Base south of Dubai around 9:15 a.m. local time, Australian Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday (2215 GMT on Tuesday).
“I can confirm that no Australian personnel were injured, and everyone is absolutely safe at this point in time,” he said.
“There was minor damage to an accommodation block and a medical facility due to a small fire that was created as a result of that projectile hitting a road leading up to that base.”
The Australian Defence Force has used the Al Minhad Air Base as an operational headquarters since 2003, but it has hosted a smaller Australian force since the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Albanese said on Wednesday that the Iranian regime is engaging in “random attacks” across the Gulf region, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on March 5, Anthony Albanese had confirmed that Australia had deployed military assets to the Middle East to aid with the repatriation of citizens.
Speaking in parliament, Albanese had said that the government deployed military assets to the Middle East earlier in the week as part of contingency planning to help Australian citizens who are stranded in the region amid widespread travel disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict.
Local media had reported that the military assets deployed to the Middle East were a transport aircraft and a refueling plane.
The government had announced it was deploying six crisis response teams from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade into the Middle East to provide additional consular assistance to citizens.
More than 3,200 Australians had returned on 23 commercial flights as of March 11.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had previously revealed that there are around 115,000 Australians in the Middle East, with around 24,000 of those in the United Arab Emirates.
–IANS
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