Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that British forces based in Iraq shot down two Iranian drones overnight.
The incident occurred at a coalition base in the Iraqi city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, where some drones hit the base and injured a number of US troops, according to Brigadier Guy Foden.
British personnel are currently in Erbil helping to defend that base, which was struck "a number of times" on Wednesday night, Foden said.
Response From Authorities
Healey stated that from the point when Iran began "hitting back indiscriminately" at countries across the Middle East, there had been a British team involved in Iraq, pulling down drones and protecting the base.
There were no British casualties in the attack, and the UK's chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Nick Perry, told Healey that there were "definitively" signs of a link between Russia and Iran in the way attack drones are being used.
UK Military Operations
The UK flew air combat patrols over Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to a "number of sorties" over Qatar, Foden said.
RAF jets also continued to fly in defence of Cyprus with European allies in the region, and the UK had clocked up more than 300 pilot flying hours over the last 13 days, Healey added.
Naval Deployment
A British warship, HMS Dragon, which left the UK on Tuesday, was still on the way to the Mediterranean as of midday on Thursday, with its main role being to protect RAF Akrotiri.
