A video that circulated widely on social media on April 2, 2026, appears to show a U.S. F‑15 fighter jet pursuing what users say were Iranian Shahed drones over Iraqi airspace, followed by a large ground explosion and a column of black smoke. Accounts sharing the footage on X claimed the fighter failed to intercept at least two Shahed‑136 drones and framed the incident as a dramatic example of asymmetric warfare; some posts described the drones as low‑cost (around $20,000) while giving different valuations for the jet. The United States and its allies have not confirmed the episode.
The footage was reportedly linked to an Iranian strike on a British‑owned motor oil facility in Erbil, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, which ignited a massive fire. Local reports say three separate drones struck the Castrol plant operated by the Sardar Group during the morning, producing large plumes of smoke visible across the city.
A post by the account Commentary IRGC on X highlighted the apparent mismatch between expensive U.S. fighter jets and cheaper attack drones, characterizing the event as evidence that “airpower dominance is collapsing into asymmetry.” The post and similar Iran‑backed channels have been central to the viral spread of the video.
The strikes come amid heightened regional tensions after the outbreak of full‑scale hostilities on February 28, 2026, following U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. Iraq has been attempting to balance competing pressures from Washington and Tehran as the wider Middle East conflict tests that neutrality.
Earlier this week, Baghdad granted former paramilitary groups and pro‑Iran factions within the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) the “right to respond in self‑defence” to attacks, while also pledging to prosecute those who target U.S. interests. Bases hosting elements of the PMF have themselves been hit by air strikes, which some PMF leaders have blamed on the United States and Israel. Pro‑Iran factions within Iraq continue to report near‑daily actions against U.S.‑linked sites across the region.
Separately, Iran has carried out strikes against Kurdish opposition groups operating in autonomous northern Iraqi Kurdistan, adding another layer to the security challenge in the north. Baghdad’s complex security environment and the presence of multiple armed actors make independent verification of such incidents difficult.
At present, the provenance and full details of the viral video remain unverified. Officials from the United States, the United Kingdom and other relevant parties have not publicly confirmed that an F‑15 chased or failed to intercept Shahed drones over Erbil, and independent on‑the‑ground corroboration of the strike and its precise effects is still awaited.
Original Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/iran-war-news-video-shows-us-f-15-trying-to-chase-irans-shahed-drone-over-iraq-11300262#publisher=newsstand
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Publish Date: 2026-04-02 10:43:00
