War Iran-United States Military Crisis of 2020 - US Baghdad embassy under siege, rocket fire in US Baghdad green zone, Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 crash, and more!

January 10th:
Exclusive: Informants in Iraq, Syria helped U.S. kill Iran's Soleimani - sources (archive)(post)
Iraqi Shia cleric whose militia killed American troops says crisis is over following Iran strike and Trump speech (archive)(post)
Iraqi PM tells US to decide mechanism for troop withdrawal (archive)(post)
Mike Pence says Congress might 'compromise sources and methods' if fully briefed on the Soleimani strike (archive)(post)
Unidentified planes hit Iraqi militiamen in Syria, killing 8 (archive)(post)
Iraq: The Master Of Mayhem Meets A Missile (archive)(post)
Eliminating Qasem Soleimani was Donald Trump’s Middle East farewell letter (archive)(post)
Iran uses BULLDOZERS to clear debris from plane crash site while accusing US of ‘big lie’ that they shot it down (archive)(post)
Swiss Back Channel Helped Defuse U.S.-Iran Crisis (post)

January 11th:
UKRAINIAN AIRCRAFT WAS BROUGHT DOWN IN IRAN DUE TO 'HUMAN ERROR' (archive)(post)
Iran minister says 'human error' caused by 'US adventurism' led to deadly crash of Ukrainian jetliner (archive)(post)
Ukrainian aircraft was brought down in Iran due to 'human error' (archive)(post)
Trump, at Ohio rally, says Democrats would have leaked Soleimani attack plans (archive)(post)
The Atlantic's David Frum blames Trump for downing of plane in Iran, deaths of 176 (archive)(post)
Associated Press changes ‘shockingly bad’ headline about Soleimani, Ukrainian plane crash after backlash (archive)(post)
GOP Rep. Doug Collins apologizes for saying Democrats are 'in love with terrorists' (archive)(post)
Iran demands West 'show findings' as new video reveals aircraft was struck before fiery crash (archive)(post)
Warren town hall interrupted by angry protester accusing her of ‘siding with terrorists’ (archive)(post)
Trump administration announces new sanctions on Iran (archive)(post)
Prepare For the Worst From Iran Cyber Attacks, As DHS Issues Warning: Experts (archive)(post)
Trump tells Fox News' Laura Ingraham 'four embassies' were targeted in imminent threat from Iran (archive)(post)
Trump tweets support for Iranian protesters as they demand Khamenei quit (archive)(post)
Trump warns Iran against ‘another massacre’ as protests flare over downed jet (archive)(post)

January 12th:
Trump tweet in Farsi 'the most liked Persian tweet' in history of Twitter (archive)(post)
Iraq warned to keep US troops or risk financial blow-WSJ (archive)(post)
Iran arrests UK ambassador in what Britain calls ‘flagrant violation of international law’ (archive)(post)

January 13th:
Trump authorized Soleimani's killing 7 months ago, with conditions (archive)(post)

edit: This is a WIP. All links are posted in the order they appear in the thread, not in chronological order of their publication.


---Original OP before the merge---
Iraqi supporters of Iran-backed militia attack US Embassy
https://apnews.com/75228a8a607a44863b57021ac33264dc (http://archive.vn/ljm9Y)

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA12 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main building inside embassy. It was not clear what caused the fire at the reception area near the parking lot of the compound. A man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”

The embassy attack followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. military said it was in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it had blamed on the militia.

Dozens of protesters marched inside the compound after smashing the gate used by cars to enter the embassy. The protesters, many in militia uniform, stopped in a corridor after about 5 meters (16 feet), and were only about 200 meters away from the main building. Half a dozen U.S. soldiers were seen on the roof of the main building, their guns were pointed at the protesters.

Smoke from the tear gas rose in the area, and at least three of the protesters appeared to have difficulties breathing. It wasn’t immediately known whether the embassy staff had remained inside the main building.

The protesters hanged a poster on the wall: “America is an aggressor.”

Shouting “Down, Down USA,” the crowd tried to push inside the embassy grounds, hurling water and stones over its walls. They raised yellow militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates’ reception area. They sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows in red in support of the Kataeb Hezbollah militia: “Closed in the name of the resistance.”

Hundreds of angry protesters, some in militia uniforms, set up tents outside the embassy. As tempers rose, the mob set fire to three trailers used by security guards along the embassy wall.

No one was immediately reported hurt in the rampage and security staff had withdrawn to inside the embassy earlier, soon after protesters gathered outside.

The U.S. attack — the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years — and the subsequent calls by the militia for retaliation, represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran playing out in the Middle East.

Tuesday’s attempted embassy storming took place after mourners and supporters held funerals for the militia fighters killed in a Baghdad neighborhood, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling U.S. Embassy there.

AP journalists then saw the crowd as they tried to scale the walls of the embassy, in what appeared to be an attempt to storm it, shouting “Down, down USA!” and “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday’s strikes send the message that the U.S. will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.

The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia had vowed Monday to retaliate for the U.S. military strikes. The attack and vows for revenge raised concerns of new attacks that could threaten American interests in the region.

The U.S. attack also outraged both the militias and the Iraqi government, which said it will reconsider its relationship with the U.S.-led coalition — the first time it has said it will do so since an agreement was struck to keep some U.S. troops in the country. It called the attack a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.

In a partly televised meeting Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi told Cabinet members that he had tried to stop the U.S. operation “but there was insistence” from American officials.

The U.S. military said “precision defensive strikes” were conducted against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and Syria. The group, which is a separate force from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Many of them are supported by Iran.

.

 

[No Ma'ams Land]

Yeah, that box is going to the Iranian equivalent of the warehouse from Indiana Jones.

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

Milley says Iran launched ballistic missiles intending to kill

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs believes Iran intended to take lives in its Tuesday night strike, contradicting administration officials.

www.militarytimes.com

Milley says Iran launched ballistic missiles intending to kill
The Pentagon’s top military adviser believes that when Iran launched missiles at two Iraqi coalition bases on Tuesday night, they were looking for casualties.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Wednesday at the Pentagon that it’s his assessment Iran missed its intended targets at the Al Asad and Erbil air bases, contradicting reports that the victimless strike was meant to make a point but offer Iran a chance to deescalate tensions.

“Bottom line is, in my professional assessment, at Al Asad ... the points of impact were close enough to personnel and equipment and so on and so forth ― I believe, based on what I saw and what I know, that they were intended to cause structural damage, destroy vehicles and aircraft, and to kill personnel,” he said.

Milley added that it was his own personnel assessment, and that intelligence analysts are doing their own investigation now.

Iran launched 16 rockets at Al Asad and Erbil, 11 of which hit Al Asad, while one landed outside of Erbil and four failed in flight, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters.


An American helicopter was damaged in the strike, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Military Times. The rest was structural, Esper said, including taxiways, tents and a parking lot.

Esper added that while he shares Milley’s initial assessment, he will wait on the analysis to make a true determination.

“All I can tell you is, factually, they landed at certain points in a populated camp and they did certain amounts of damage, and there were no casualties,” Milley said. “Why there were no casualties? In my estimation, from what I know now, I think it has more to do with the defensive techniques that our forces used as opposed to intent.”

And if Iran intended to kill coalition forces and missed the mark, does that mean they have unfinished business?

“I think it’s perhaps too early to tell,” Milley said.

The chairman’s comments contradicted reports of administration officials who believe that Iran planned to cause only structural damage in its retaliation for the drone strike that killed a top military leader, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, at the Baghdad airport on Thursday.


In an address Wednesday, President Trump declared that Iran is standing down after Tuesday’s attack. Also on Wednesday, Muqtada al-Sadr, a notorious Shia cleric and Iraqi politician, issued a message declaring the Iran crisis over.

However, the situation is fluid. Shortly before Esper spoke with reporters, the Iraqi security forces issued a Tweet saying two Katyusha rockets landed inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, with no casualties.


Despite the apparent detente, Esper said that there are no immediate plans to bring 5,000 soldiers deployed to the Middle East last week as part of the Global Response Force plan.

“We’re still in a tense period, if you will. Troops will remain or continue to be re-positioned based on threats," he said. "While we want to give them some predictability, it’s too hard to say how long this will last at this point in time.

-End of Article-​

As I have previously mentioned, I do not believe that Iran did not mean to kill US soldiers.

The Iranian FM supposedly told the Iraqi FM that the strike was going to happen, but I cannot find a source (other than CNN), saying that the US got a tip off from either Iraq or Iran.

I have heard a lot of reports that it was the USA's ballistic missile launch detection system did work. It was buried in a lot of reports, like this one and this one.

The United states has one of the most technologically capable early warning systems ever developed.

The keystone is the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS). It is a very sensitive satellite system designed to detect and track missile launches.

https://www.dote.osd.mil/Portals/97/pub/reports/FY2016/af/2016sbirs.pdf?ver=2019-08-22-105431-450

Space-based Infrared System (SBIRS) | Missile Threat

The Space-based Infrared System (SBIRS) is a constellation of integrated satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and high elliptical orbit (HEO) and ground-based data processing and command and control centers. This...

missilethreat.csis.org

I dunno, how large are the bases? Because it's not like Iran was firing these from that far off. They'd have what, 15 minutes of warning? No casualties and so little structural damage that it was apparently worthwhile mentioning that they damaged some tents? I still say we knew this was going to happen before they actually launched.

 

[Pomeranian bitch]

Unrelated, but is Trump doing amphetamines or something? dude was sniffling and dry mouth the whole address statement

Lol many dementia meds have that side effect as well.

 

[samuraicrack]

Someone's booty-blasted that this super serious war going on between the U.S. and Iran is pretty much the international equivalent of a really shitty episode of Jackass.

 

[CumDumpster]

To me, the timeline of events looks like this...
>Patriots kill top terrorist in Iran
>Corporate media echo the sentiments of Iran, but not it's government or citizenry
>Iran fires missiles as a PR move and miss the targets
>Ukranian flight crashes the same night (malicious parties might be killed off), coincidence?
>Iran wants peace, starts a talk about peace, then pivots
Iran is now the last place where intelligence agencies have a base. I am of the firm belief that Trump wasn't paying lip service when he spoke the words "drain the swamp" sometime back, but more the "swamp" has been fighting to slow down it's dismantlement.
There's a reason that Impeachment claims are being made despite the Democrats being aware that nothing will be done...
After Iran's done, Kenya is next!

 

[No Ma'ams Land]

Michael Tracey wants to be Matt Taibbi so fuckin bad

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

supposedly the airliner crash was an "uncontained engine failure"

Well Missiles do cause engine failure.

 

[Echo_Ender]

Someone's booty-blasted that this super serious war going on between the U.S. and Iran is pretty much the international equivalent of a really shitty episode of Jackass.

View attachment 1090021


View attachment 1090022


View attachment 1090023

"Dude, you need to relax" and "Go watch football or something lol" are unironically the best pieces of advice anyone is giving this spaz... and he thinks they're trolling him!

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

There's literally nothing that they won't take the opposite stance of Trump on.

If Trump said cannibalism was bad the Democrats would be all for it.

The Left across the whole Western World is in an "oppose for the sake of appearing to oppose" because their base has become so whittled down they've basically got only the fundies who demand ideological purity at all times left supporting them. This means even when your gut is "hang on, he's right" they've still got to screech or they'll suddenly find themselves replaced with more AOC's.

All this spergery about SAMs reminded me about Starstreak, the most wickedly metal of all SAMs.

It's too bad the UK's arms industry has been so cucked by the EU (and US). I'm at least hoping the whole Brexit thing will obliquely improve NATO defense tech as a whole. Sharing tech with allies is great, bootstrapping it based on their needs is just exceptional.

The UK Arms industry is semi-cucked because we created a "national champion" in BAE. Tony Blair pushed for it and waved through all the monopoly issues and then wondered why BAE would then ask for eye watering amounts of money every time someone wanted either kit, or a modicum of change to a design.

It got so bad that the Tory Government created the "National Shipbuilding Strategy" specifically to tell BAE to go fuck itself. This was because the Type 45's wound up costing 29% more than originally envisioned and means the 6 Destroyers we do have cost a cool £1bn a piece.

In fact it's changed how the UK deals with vessels and other weapons systems entirely. The Strategy calls for ships to be modular built in the many smaller shipyards in the UK, or have fixed prices per vessel. The Type 31e Frigate, for example, is a UK derivative of the already existing Iver Huitfeldt Class a proven "off the shelf" design with a fixed price of £250m per ship.

The Cheifs of Staff are also "encouraged" (told by the defence minister) they have to stop asking for brand new unique kit every time they want to update their toys, and have to find more existing ideas and systems instead. They still have to be built in the UK, but no more "We want a whole new ship".

The Navy, after learning its mistakes from the Type 45 disaster (supposed to be 12 built, reduced to 8, then dropped altogether to the current 6) that they can ask for hull-for-hull replacements, but any Royal Naval Expansion is currently off the cards, and they refuse to go for sensible options to expand the fleet and relieve the pressure of our capital ships anyway. (The latter linked could be built in the dozens of ferry and fishing boat shipyards we have dotted around the UK).

 

[Immortal Technique]

Supposed video of the plane as it crashes.

https://twitter.com/PMBreakingNews/status/1214765732141182978?s=19

 

[Overly Serious]

I dunno, how large are the bases? Because it's not like Iran was firing these from that far off. They'd have what, 15 minutes of warning? No casualties and so little structural damage that it was apparently worthwhile mentioning that they damaged some tents? I still say we knew this was going to happen before they actually launched.

This general should honestly just let Trump do his job. Trump is obviously trying to find some politically acceptable way this can stay a passing spat rather than turn into an actual war - he's spinning this for all he's worth with lines about "Iran seems to be stepping down" and "failed to kill anyone". And then you have generals like this making public statements that seem almost calculated to force the players to go into open conflict.

 

[Florence]

Turns out one of the blokes on the plane was from where I live in London.

 

[qu_rahn]

Lol @ thinking Iran could hit the airbase with Ballistic Missiles but somehow know where people are so as not to cause any casualties. They aren't that good bro.

They absolutely intended to kill people. There's no way these camel fuckers knew that the buildings/tents they hit were uninhabited. In any case they look like incompetent r etards and Trump dabbed all over them by offering a way out

 

[L50LasPak]

-Offering to call it good and go home

Sorry mate, but the OP still isn't updated. When did they wave the white flag? You got the article? I just had a whole post planned and I don't want to be that guy who jinxes it by saying "Phew, there's no nuclear war" and then the bomb goes off with perfect comedic timing.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Sorry mate, but the OP still isn't updated. When did they wave the white flag? You got the article? I just had a whole post planned and I don't want to be that guy who jinxes it by saying "Phew, there's no nuclear war" and then the bomb goes off with perfect comedic timing.

They can't even hit our base in any meaningful way, the only bomb they would set off would be in their own faces. (which is a thing I am waiting for TBH)

 

[Ledian]

To me, the timeline of events looks like this...
>Patriots kill top terrorist in Iran
>Corporate media echo the sentiments of Iran, but not it's government or citizenry
>Iran fires missiles as a PR move and miss the targets
>Ukranian flight crashes the same night (malicious parties might be killed off), coincidence?
>Iran wants peace, starts a talk about peace, then pivots
Iran is now the last place where intelligence agencies have a base. I am of the firm belief that Trump wasn't paying lip service when he spoke the words "drain the swamp" sometime back, but more the "swamp" has been fighting to slow down it's dismantlement.
There's a reason that Impeachment claims are being made despite the Democrats being aware that nothing will be done...
After Iran's done, Kenya is next!

You're missing an important piece before Patriots kill top terrorist from Iran in Iraq:

>Iran backs "protest" aimed at "protesting" the US embassy in Iraq (i.e, trying to replicate the Iranian Hostage Crisis)

 

[Otterly]

I wonder if the plane had a problem and turned back? Someone sees something off the scheduled flight path, maybe it’s got a bit of fire coming out of an engine and it kind of looks a bit like a missile, and it’s headed towards the airport, or the military base as it turns, and everything just went wrong from there?

 

[who dare wins?]

The Left across the whole Western World is in an "oppose for the sake of appearing to oppose" because their base has become so whittled down they've basically got only the fundies who demand ideological purity at all times left supporting them. This means even when your gut is "hang on, he's right" they've still got to screech or they'll suddenly find themselves replaced with more AOC's.



The UK Arms industry is semi-cucked because we created a "national champion" in BAE. Tony Blair pushed for it and waved through all the monopoly issues and then wondered why BAE would then ask for eye watering amounts of money every time someone wanted either kit, or a modicum of change to a design.

It got so bad that the Tory Government created the "National Shipbuilding Strategy" specifically to tell BAE to go fuck itself. This was because the Type 45's wound up costing 29% more than originally envisioned and means the 6 Destroyers we do have cost a cool £1bn a piece.

In fact it's changed how the UK deals with vessels and other weapons systems entirely. The Strategy calls for ships to be modular built in the many smaller shipyards in the UK, or have fixed prices per vessel. The Type 31e Frigate, for example, is a UK derivative of the already existing Iver Huitfeldt Class a proven "off the shelf" design with a fixed price of £250m per ship.

The Cheifs of Staff are also "encouraged" (told by the defence minister) they have to stop asking for brand new unique kit every time they want to update their toys, and have to find more existing ideas and systems instead. They still have to be built in the UK, but no more "We want a whole new ship".

The Navy, after learning its mistakes from the Type 45 disaster (supposed to be 12 built, reduced to 8, then dropped altogether to the current 6) that they can ask for hull-for-hull replacements, but any Royal Naval Expansion is currently off the cards, and they refuse to go for sensible options to expand the fleet and relieve the pressure of our capital ships anyway. (The latter linked could be built in the dozens of ferry and fishing boat shipyards we have dotted around the UK).

Australian horn cucked for having naval group building our new submarine system and BAE are now building new Aussies frigates. Seriously Australia has absolutely no fucking industrial shiny whatsoever right now.

Yeah, that box is going to the Iranian equivalent of the warehouse from Indiana Jones.

More like the black boxes and the wreckage will never fucking incinerated.

I dunno, how large are the bases? Because it's not like Iran was firing these from that far off. They'd have what, 15 minutes of warning? No casualties and so little structural damage that it was apparently worthwhile mentioning that they damaged some tents? I still say we knew this was going to happen before they actually launched.

The bases are big, al asad Is over a shot load of land and erbil I said a bit smaller, like a couple of square miles. Still unexpectedly huge fucking holes in the groundbreaking but all we get is this shit?

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

Duterte has decided to evacuate all Filipinos that are in Iraq in light of recent events:

Philippines orders citizens to evacuate Iraq after Iran strikes

There are about 7,000 Filipinos in Iraq and more than 1,000 in Iran, many employed as domestic helpers, nurses and construction workers.

www.scmp.com

Philippines orders citizens to evacuate Iraq after Rodrigo Duterte warns of ‘protracted war’

• There are about 7,000 Filipinos in Iraq and more than 1,000 in Iran, many employed as domestic helpers, nurses and construction workers
• Iran on Wednesday fired missiles at US troops in Iraq after the targeted assassination of General Qassem Soleimani last week

Reuters
Published: 10:29am, 8 Jan, 2020

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters

The Philippines
has ordered a mandatory evacuation for Filipinos in Iraq, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after
Iran attacked American forces
there in response to a US strike that killed an Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, last week.
“The Alert Level in the entire Iraq has been raised to Alert Level 4 calling for mandatory evacuation,” said Eduardo Menez, spokesman at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
About 2.3 million people from the Philippines are working in the Middle East as domestic helpers, construction workers, engineers and nurses.
President Rodrigo Duterte
earlier ordered the armed forces to prepare air and naval assets for the evacuation of Filipinos in Iraq,
Iran
and nearby Arab countries, his spokesman Salvador Panelo said on Tuesday.

Saying he was deeply worried about the prospect of a “protracted war”, Duterte told reporters he sent a special envoy to Tehran and Baghdad to get assurances that Filipinos would be provided safe passage in case of evacuation.


“We have so many Filipinos working mainly in the Middle East. I am nervous. Iran seems to be hell-bent on a retaliation, which I think will come,” Duterte said in a speech on Monday.

There are close to 7,000 Filipinos working and living in Iraq and more than 1,000 in Iran, according to government data.


Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who heads a newly created committee to prepare the evacuation, said the government is readying aircraft to ferry Filipinos in Iraq and Iran who wish to come home or be evacuated to safer areas.
SUBSCRIBE SCMP TODAY: THIS WEEK IN ASIA
Get updates direct to your inbox
SUBMIT
By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy
“We can send transportation to fetch them,” Lorenza told reporters, adding that hiring a cruise ship was among the things the government was considering to safely evacuate those who would wish to be repatriated.

There are close to 7,000 Filipinos working and living in Iraq and more than 1,000 in Iran. Photo: AFP
Iran spent the previous days considering several scenarios to avenge Friday’s killing of Soleimani by a US drone attack in Iraq, a senior Tehran official said on Tuesday as the general’s body was brought to his hometown for burial.



Filipinos in the Middle East sent home US$5.4 billion in remittances in January to October last year, accounting for a fifth of total remittances for that period, making the region a major source of foreign exchange inflows which help drive growth in the consumption-led Philippine economy.

Janes | Latest defence and security news

Janes | The latest defence and security news from Janes - the trusted source for defence intelligence

www.janes.com

Philippines prepare to deploy 84 m OPV to Middle East for possible evacuations
Ridzwan Rahmat, Singapore - Jane's Navy International
09 January 2020
Follow

RSS

Gabriela Silang, seen here during its preliminary sea trials in October 2019.
Key Points

• The Philippines is preparing a newly received OPV for its first rescue mission
• The country's armed forces have also been instructed to prepare its landing platform docks, and two battalions of troops to assist in possible evacuations

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is preparing to deploy its newly received 84 m offshore patrol vessel (OPV) to the Middle East to assist in the possible evacuation of Philippine nationals from the region.
The vessel, Gabriela Silang , was handed over by French shipbuilder OCEA to the PCG in December 2019. It left Saint-Nazaire, France for its maiden voyage on 30 December 2019 and is currently docked at Malta. It was initially scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on 10 February.
"However, as directed by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade as part of the national government's preparation to assist [overseas Filipino workers] who may need immediate extrication, the arrival of BRP Gabriela Silang is halted for a greater cause," said the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) on 8 January.
Gabriela Silang and its 35 crew members are now preparing to sail to either Dubai or Oman, where it will assist in the evacuation of Philippine nationals who would like to leave, but are unable to secure a passage home, the department added.
The OPV is powered by twin MTU 16V 4000 M73 diesel engines and has a contractual maximum speed of 22 kt with a range of 8,000 n miles at 12 kt. For regular operations, the vessel can accommodate a crew of 40, with 26 additional spaces for mission-specific crew.
According to additional numbers provided by the DOTr on 8 January, the OPV can also ferry about 500 evacuees. The PCG will deploy 18 additional crew members to assist the vessel's pioneering crew with the evacuation mission, the department added.

 

[Echo_Ender]

Duterte has decided to evacuate all Filipinos that are in Iraq in light of recent events:

Philippines orders citizens to evacuate Iraq after Iran strikes

There are about 7,000 Filipinos in Iraq and more than 1,000 in Iran, many employed as domestic helpers, nurses and construction workers.

www.scmp.com

Janes | Latest defence and security news

Janes | The latest defence and security news from Janes - the trusted source for defence intelligence

www.janes.com

Awwww, that's adorable! The crazy Philippine President sent his toy boat to play pretend Navy!