A number of rockets have smashed right into a U.S. Military base and a Kurdish information channel workplace in Erbil, Northern Iraq.
At the least a dozen ‘Iranian-produced ballistic missiles’ hit town within the early hours of Sunday, Governor Omed Khoshnaw confirmed.
He mentioned it was not clear whether or not the missiles have been focusing on the American consulate on the web site, or the airport within the metropolis.
Kurdish and U.S. officers confirmed that there have been no casualties in what they’re calling an ‘outrageous assault,’ including that no group has instantly claimed duty for the strike.
U.S. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie had warned about assaults within the space again in December, when he informed The Related Press that whereas American forces in Iraq switched to a non-combat function final yr, Iran and its proxies ‘nonetheless need American troops to depart the nation.’
Consequently, McKenzie mentioned, ‘that will set off extra assaults’ on American bases.
No additional particulars have been instantly accessible, however movies posted on-line appeared to point out a number of ‘Iranian-produced’ ballistic missiles hitting the bottom in Erbil.
Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr mentioned on Twitter: ‘Erbil is underneath fireplace… as if Kurds weren’t Iraqis.’
The assault got here throughout a pause in Vienna over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A number of rockets have smashed right into a US Military base and a Kurdish information channel workplace in Erbil, northern Iraq.
At the least 5 ‘Iranian-produced ballistic missiles’ hit town within the early hours of Sunday, Governor Omed Khoshnaw confirmed. He mentioned it was not clear whether or not the missiles have been focusing on the American consulate on the web site, or the airport within the metropolis
There have been ‘victims or casualties after Erbil blasts’ Kurdish Well being Minister Saman Barzanji mentioned. US officers later confirmed there have been no army victims of the blasts
The U.S. base at Erbil Worldwide Airport was beforehand hit by a rocket assault in September, on the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terror assaults in the US.
It’s the second drone assault on the airport in as many months. The inner safety service for the autonomous area, of which Erbil is the capital, initially mentioned on the time that three rockets had hit close to the airport.
A second assertion by the Kurdish counter-terrorism drive mentioned the assault had been carried out by explosive-laden drones.
The airport in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish area, has come underneath assault a number of occasions previously yr, together with by drones carrying explosives.
The final time ballistic missiles have been directed at U.S. forces was in January 2020 – an Iranian retaliation for the U.S. killing earlier that month of its army commander Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad airport.
No U.S. personnel have been killed within the 2020 assault however many suffered head accidents.
The assault occurred on the Erbil Worldwide Airport in Iraq, proven on this map
A drone assault hit close to U.S. forces stationed at Erbil Worldwide Airport in northern Iraq on Saturday
U.S. officers blame earlier assaults on Iran-aligned Shi’ite Muslim militias which have vowed to struggle till the remaining 2,500 U.S. army personnel go away the nation.
The U.S. forces are main a global army coalition whose mandate is to assist Iraqi forces struggle remnants of the Sunni extremist Islamic State group.
That is the second assault in two months, with one drone hanging the airport in July. There have been no accidents or any structural harm.
That assault got here a day after rockets and a drone focused Ain al-Asad air base, which homes U.S. troops, and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
In April, a drone dropped explosives close to the US forces stationed at Erbil airport.
A drone assault hit close to U.S. forces stationed at Erbil Worldwide Airport in northern Iraq on Saturday, Iraqi Kurdish safety officers mentioned. Pictured: Erbil Worldwide Airport is pictured in February after flights restarted, following one other rocket assault exterior the worldwide airport
Iraq and neighboring Syria are repeatedly the scene of violence between the US and Iran. Iran-backed Shi’ite Islamist militias have attacked U.S. forces in each international locations and Washington has occasionally retaliated with air strikes.
An Israeli air strike in Syria on Monday killed two members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Iranian state media mentioned this week. The IRGC vowed to retaliate, it mentioned.
Kurdish officers didn’t instantly say the place the missiles struck. A spokesperson for the regional authorities mentioned there have been no flight interruptions at Erbil airport.
Residents of Erbil posted movies on-line displaying a number of giant explosions, and a few mentioned the blasts shook their houses. Reuters couldn’t independently confirm these movies.
Iraq has been rocked by power instability because the defeat of the Sunni Islamist group Islamic State in 2017 by a unfastened coalition of Iraqi, U.S.-led and Iran-backed forces.
Since then, Iran-aligned militias have repeatedly attacked U.S. army and diplomatic websites in Iraq, U.S. and plenty of Iraqi officers say. Iran denies involvement in these assaults.
Home politics has additionally fueled violence.
Iraqi political events, most of which have armed wings, are at the moment in tense talks over forming a authorities after an election in October.
Shi’ite militia teams near Iran warn in non-public that they may resort to violence if they’re overlooked of any ruling coalition.
The chief political foes of these teams embody their highly effective Shi’ite rival, the populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has vowed to kind a authorities that leaves out Iran’s allies and consists of Kurds and Sunnis.