British air base in Cyprus hit by suspected drone strike


NICOSIA, March 2 (Reuters) - ⁠Britain's Royal Air Force base ⁠Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by ‌a suspected drone strike overnight, causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot authorities and the ​UK's Ministry of Defence said.

A ⁠Cyprus government spokesperson ⁠said that "information received through various channels indicates ⁠that ‌it involved an unmanned drone, which caused limited damage". ⁠A security alert put out to residents ​in ‌the vicinity of Akrotiri by the ⁠British bases ​administration advised residents to shelter in place until further notice 'following a suspected drone ⁠impact'.

Britain retains sovereignty over ​the territory of two bases on the eastern Mediterranean island, which is a member ⁠of the European Union. RAF Akrotiri covers a sprawling, square-shaped peninsula on the southern tip of Cyprus. The last ​time it was ⁠directly attacked was by Libyan militants in ​the mid-1980s.

(Reporting by Devika ‌Nair in Bengaluru and ​Michele Kambas in Nicosia; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Jacqueline Wong)

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