Drone attack targets US-led anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq

A drone attack on Tuesday targeted a military base at Erbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan that hosts troops from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, officials said.

“At two different points, three drones attacked the international coalition” on Tuesday morning, the autonomous Kurdish region’s anti-terrorism service said in a statement.

In the first attack “on the military base at Erbil airport, two drones were shot down”, while a third subsequently crashed without exploding, the service said.

The Pentagon later confirmed that an attack had taken place in Iraqi Kurdistan without causing casualties or damage, but only mentioned one drone that failed to detonate on impact.

American and allied forces were also targeted in Syria on Tuesday, where rockets were fired at Mission Support Site Euphrates without causing casualties or damage, the Pentagon said.

Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last month, a series of rocket and drone attacks have targeted military bases hosting US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

Since October 17, US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria have been targeted by drone or rocket attacks at least 40 times, injuring dozens of US personnel, according to the Pentagon.

Tuesday’s attack was claimed by a group known as “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” on Telegram channels affiliated with Iraqi factions close to Tehran. The same group has claimed most of the recent attacks.

In a visit to Baghdad on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attacks, which Washington has linked back to Iran, were “totally unacceptable”.

Some 2,500 American troops are deployed in Iraq and another 900 in Syria, as part of the international anti-jihadist coalition that was established in 2014.

In Iraq, the coalition says its role is limited to advising and supporting local counterparts.