Several drones targeting the Erbil International Airport in Iraqi Kurdistan were reportedly shot down on late Saturday night, according to social media posts.
According to initial reports from security services, it is unclear whether the blasts were the result of a drone or rocket attack. Rudaw TV channel said citing the Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism directorate that at least one explosive-laden drone attacked the airport.
Footage allegedly showing the moment air defenses repel the reported attack has been shared online.
The Erbil governor reportedly stated that the attack had been repulsed, as officials are now assessing its impact. Security forces told Rudaw TV that the blasts occurred outside the airport perimeter.
There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
While no official confirmation has come from Iraqi officials or the US mission, such attacks are a regular occurrence at the Erbil airport, where American troops are stationed. In July, explosive-laden drones struck in the vicinity of Erbil, but no casualties or injuries were inflicted by the attack.
A man walks past a graffiti reading in Kurdish "Long live Kurdistan”, near the scene of a rocket attack in Arbil, the capital of the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on February 16, 2021.
© REUTERS / SAFIN HAMED
In late June, following a spike in the attacks targeting US personnel and facilities in Iraq, the Pentagon conducted what it called "defensive precision airstrikes" against facilities it believes were used by Iranian-backed militants at the Iraq-Syrian border. The airstrikes came at a direct order by the US president.
Security issues increased in Iraq after Iranian top military commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike in January 2020. Tehran retailed shortly thereafter, striking the US-controlled Ain Al Asad airbase and the US-led coalition headquarters in Erbil. No soldiers were killed in the strikes but dozens were claimed to have suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI), according to the Pentagon.
Qasem Soleimani Saying Prayer in Imam Khomeini Hossainiah in Tehran
CC BY 4.0 / Unknown author / Qasem Soleimani Saying Prayer
AP reported, however, that Tehran was extremely angry with the attack. Soleimani was a highly-respected person in Iran, praised for combatting terrorism in the region, including the infamous Daesh*, while also considered an architect of Iran's modern security infrastructure.
He also supported the Palestinian factions fighting against Israel.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other states