Iran Attacks Damaged Amazon Data Centers in Bahrain

Two Amazon data centers were damaged in Bahrain in Iranian attacks. They were allegedly targeted because the company supported US military operations.

Independent images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite constellation showed damage at facilities in the towns of Zallaq and Askar. The facility in Askar hosts AWS infrastructure and is run by Batelco, the country’s main operator. Those images back up claims made by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which released its own imagery to state-news agency Tasnim claiming it had inflicted damage on the two sites.

The attacks were also reported by non-profit conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, which said Iranian forces fired projectiles on the data centre in Zallaq on 24 July. It said the site in Askar was struck twice, once on 18 July and once on 21 July.

Data centers are becoming targets as militaries increasingly use digital technologies, including AI, within their operations. The two hits on Amazon add to several facilities that have been damaged during the war. AWS acknowledged in March it was facing disruption to its service following drone strikes which damaged two sites in the UAE and one in Bahrain.