The interceptor missile involved in a pre-dawn explosion that killed one and injured dozens of civilians in Bahrain was a US-operated Patriot air defense battery, a Reuters investigation has revealed.
The Reuters study, based on the review of open-source visuals and commercial satellite imagery, suggested that the suspect missile was launched from a US Patriot battery located about 4 miles to the southwest of the Mahazza neighborhood.
Both Bahrain and the US have blamed an Iranian drone attack for the March 9 blast, which tore through a residential building in Bahrain’s capital Manama.
US Central Command had said that an Iranian drone struck a residential neighborhood in Bahrain.
On Saturday, Bahrain for the first time acknowledged that a Patriot missile was involved in the explosion over the Mahazza neighborhood on Sitra island.
In a statement, a Bahraini government spokesperson said the Patriot missile successfully intercepted an Iranian drone mid-air, saving lives.
“The damage and injuries sustained were not a result of a direct impact to the ground of either the Patriot interceptor or the Iranian drone,” the Bahraini spokesperson said.
A day after the strike, Bahrain said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed 105 missiles and 176 drones launched by Iran.
In response to Reuters’ questions, a senior US official said the country was “crushing” Iran’s ability to shoot or produce drones and missiles.
“We will continue to address these threats to our country and our allies,” the official told Reuters. However, there was no confirmation on whether the Patriot attack was used to intercept the drones.
Expensive air defence to combat cheap drones
The use of costly and advanced defence system by the US and its allies to counter cheaper Iranian drones has been a defining feature of the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
The US-made Patriot have largely been successful in stopping the Iranian Shaheds and other ballistic missiles, but using $4 million defence system to destroy drones worth $20,000 is proving to be a daunting task for the allies.
The air-defense missiles have been largely successful in stopping the Iranian Shaheds and other ballistic missiles, with interception rates as high as 90 per cent, according to Bloomberg.
Both Bahrain and the US operate Patriot air defense batteries in the Gulf region. Bahrain, a close US ally in on the Persian Gulf, hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet along with the regional US naval command.
