Iraq: armed drone attack targets Erbil airport

Published on : 09/12/2021 – 07:29

An attack with “armed drones” targeted Saturday 11 September Erbil International Airport, close to the United States consulate in this city in northern Iraq, announced the Iraqi Kurdistan counterterrorism unit, assuring that the incident had caused no casualties.

The airport, where there is an air base housing troops of the international anti-jihadist coalition, “has not suffered any damage,” airport director Ahmed Hochiar told AFP.

“There are no casualties in the attack carried out with two armed drones on Erbil International Airport,” the anti-terrorism force of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan said in a statement.

An AFP correspondent heard two loud explosions and saw black smoke rise in the air, just as he heard sirens sounding from the US consulate.

Access to the airport sector was sealed off by a strong security presence, according to witnesses.

Attacks of this kind, targeting American troops and interests in Iraq in particular, have been recurring in recent months. Never claimed, they are systematically attributed by the United States to pro-Iran Iraqi factions.

The new use of drones is a headache for the coalition because these flying devices can escape the C-RAM defense batteries, installed by the American army to defend its troops.

In July, a drone bomb attack was carried out on Erbil International Airport, causing no injuries or material damage. A few weeks earlier three drones had targeted Baghdad airport, where American soldiers are also deployed.

Nemesis, Iran and the United States both have a presence or allies in Iraq, where Washington deploys some 2,500 troops.

Saturday’s Erbil incident comes on the day the United States commemorated 9/11, paying tribute to the victims of jihadist attacks that killed 3,000 people 20 years ago.

With AFP