AKROTIRI – A drone strike hit a British air base in Cyprus causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot and British officials said on Monday, in an escalation entangling an EU member in the conflict surrounding Iran.
The strike, which hit a runway at the British Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri just after midnight, shook the east Mediterranean island, a holiday hotspot and home to thousands of foreign companies. Local residents scrambled to seek shelter.
Senior Cypriot officials say the attack was carried out by an Iranian Shahed drone most likely fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon, although the officials have stressed that the base, rather than Cyprus, was the target.
They said it was undetected because it flew at a very low altitude.
Iran and its allies have retaliated against U.S. and Israeli bombing of Iran by targeting military bases.
During the daytime on Monday two more drones were detected heading towards Akrotiri, triggering sirens and a scramble of aircraft, though they were intercepted, a Cypriot spokesperson said.
“All the competent services of the republic are on alert and in full operational readiness,” President Nikos Christodoulides said in a speech.
