Air Attacks and Ground Insurgents at Iceland's Airport

January 1, 2010

Keflavik, Iceland -- The government of Iceland and NATO spokesmen have confirmed a massive attack has been launched against the airport in Keflavik.

The few media outlets in the area have gathered reports from airport personnel and civilians living nearby, and concluded the isolated country appears to be under attack by Russian forces both from the air and on the ground.

The Keflavik airport serves not just civilian flights but also houses a large contingent of military planes and helicopters belonging to NATO forces. One airport staffer indicated the first signs of attack he observed were at around 11:30 pm when he overheard reports that a military Pave Hawk helicopter had been hit by ground fire - likely an RPG or Anti-Tank missile - and was limping back to the airfield.

Within a minute he saw pilots scrambling to their U.S. F-15 air superiority fighters, with ground personnel prepping the aircraft for takeoff. But these efforts were hampered almost immediately when mortar round began falling inside the military section of the airfield. The witness stated the rounds came in sporadically at first and appeared mostly ineffective. This changed rapidly when a fuel truck servicing an F15 was hit and exploded violently. Within seconds another fuel truck was hit. This one was parked between a pair of fighter jets, and the resulting explosion engulfed everything within a hundred yards.

The staff person had access to military radio channels and heard reports that an air defense gun crew had been killed on the northwest site of the airfield. This was followed by distant sounds of helicopter gunfire and radio traffic indicating two military helicopters were firing their miniguns at enemy troops close to the base. NATO ground fire - primarily from U.S. Marines believed to be just outside the base perimeter - also increased around this time.

The battling continued off base as mortar rounds continuing to fall periodically on the airfield. At about 11:40, one explosion severely damaged a large airplane on the field. The witness could see the plane from his vantage point, and described how the pilot appeared to maneuver the aircraft off the runway even while fire rapidly spread along its frame. Fire trucks were on scene quickly and began dousing the fire with water and foam, but the entire plane was swallowed up by flames within seconds. The staff person could not see whether the pilot escaped in time or not, but commented that his heroic actions kept the runway clear for other military aircraft to take off and land.

Five minutes later, one of the helicopters strafing enemy troops west of the base was shot down just as the other pilot radioed that he'd located a mortar team suspected to be the source of the rounds hitting the airfield. This group was in turn fired upon by U.S. marine mortars while other marines closed in. That effort appeared to be hampered somewhat by indications that IR (infra-red) scopes were not working, although nothing was heard subsequently as to why the equipment had malfunctioned.  

The latest word from the airport is that NATO forces are holding their positions amidst considerable devastation.