Iran severely damaged US air ops center in Qatar — magazine
According to the magazine, proximity to Iran and overall vulnerability of the facility have raised questions of whether it should be rebuilt
WASHINGTON, June 6. /TASS/. During the first weeks of the US-Israeli attack on Iran, an Iranian missile strike rendered inoperable the US command center that ran America’s campaigns in the Middle East for over two decades, the Air and Space Forces Magazine reported.
Citing an unnamed senior US official and other informed sources, the magazine said the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was "severely damaged." It "took a direct hit" by "multiple Iranian missiles" during "the early weeks" of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The command center was not in use during the Iranian bombing, and no casualties were reported. Its personnel was evacuated to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina beforehand, and the US military directed its campaign against Iran from there.
The command center was actively used by the Pentagon during its military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Also, a direct deconfliction line linked it with Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Syria. A memorandum of understanding to prevent incidents and ensure flight safety in the Syrian airspace was signed between the Russian Defense Ministry and the US Department of Defense of October 20, 2015.
According to Air and Space Forces Magazine, proximity to Iran and overall vulnerability of the facility have raised questions of whether it should be rebuilt. Up until now, the fact that Iran has rendered the facility inoperable has not been reported.