The US shot down two one-way attack drones targeting US forces in Iraq, according to a defense official, as American embassies face protests in a number of Middle East countries because of the war in Gaza.
There were no injuries as a result of the drone attack, the official said.
It is unclear at this point who launched the drones or how they were shot down, but such attacks are frequently attributed to Iran or Iranian-backed militias in the region.
The tension in the region following a week of war in Gaza and an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that Palestinian officials say killed hundreds of civilians have sparked widespread outrage against both Israel and the United States.
Anti-Israel protests erupted in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Iran and Turkey, and in Ramallah in the West Bank, following the blast at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of people. In Baghdad, security officials told CNN that security forces confronted protestors who tried to cross the bridge into the Green Zone, which houses the US embassy and Iraqi government offices.
Attacks on US forces in Iraq have become increasingly rare, especially as the US ended its combat mission in Iraq and transitioned to an advise-and-assist role to the Iraqi military.
But attacks do happen. In September of last year, a US F-15 fighter jet was scrambled to shoot down an Iranian drone that appeared to be heading for a US position in Erbil in Iraq.