Iranian-made drone hits British air base in Cyprus

By Michele Kambas and Sarah Young

AKROTIRI, Cyprus, ‌March 2 (Reuters) - 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.

UK ​SAYS IT WAS TARGET OF ATTACK

Britain had moved additional air assets to Akrotiri in anticipation of U.S. action against Iran, although it said that British bases would not be used.

On Sunday, ​however, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain had accepted a U.S. ‌request to use its bases for "defensive" strikes.

British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said the U.S. had not specifically requested access to Akrotiri and that the UK was being targeted by Iran. "We cannot ⁠ignore that," she said.

Akrotiri base is one of two bases Britain has retained in its former colony since independence in 1960. It has been used for past military operations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Although the bases are regarded as British sovereign territory, Cypriot officials say ⁠they have emphasised to Britain that they should only be used for humanitarian purposes.

"I want to be clear: Our country does not participate ​in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation," Christodoulides said.

Cyprus currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. While it is not a NATO member like the UK, under the EU's mutual defence clause EU members should come to its aid ‌if it is attacked.

Greece's Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said on Monday that Greece would defend Cyprus "with any possible means" and that it was sending two frigates to Cyprus, one with ‌an anti-drone system, plus four F-16 fighter jets.

Britain has roughly 7,000 British personnel and dependents on Cyprus. Its bases' territories, covering 99 ⁠square miles or just under 3% of Cyprus, ‌also host a key British listening ​post.

(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru, Michele Kambas in Nicosia, Yiannis Kourtoglou at Akrotiri, Sarah Young and Sam Tabahriti in London and Lili Bayer in Brussels; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Edward McAllister and ‌Aidan Lewis)

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