Attack on Erbil airport in Iraq reported
Reports in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq said that there was an attack on Erbil International Airport on Tuesday evening. According to Rudaw the attack was a rocket attack. It comes a day after a drone attack was reported in Baghdad against US facilities near the US embassy. At least three drones targeted the Union III site near the embassy.
The Erbil attack was reported to include numerous rockets.
In the past Erbil has been attacked by drones in late June and in April when a
drone targeted a CIA hangar. The US has forces at Erbil airport. Pro-Iranian
militias have increasingly targeted US forces in Iraq in attacks that take
place weekly and now appear to have taken place daily since July 4. This
included the two attacks on July 5, one of which was on Asad base, and then the
attacks that unfolded the night of July 5 and now on the night of July 6 in
Erbil.
US President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes on pro-Iran
militias in Syria in late June in response to the drone attack near Erbil that
struck near a site for the US consulate. The militias vowed to respond and
fired a salvo at US forces in Syria near Omar oil field. Rumors said another
attack near Omar unfolded on July 4 but the US-led Coalition denied that
attack. The Erbil attack would therefore be the third attack in 36 hours. This
is a major escalation by pro-Iran groups that seek to eject the US from Iraq. There
have been around 50 attacks since the beginning of the year, increasingly
involving drone.
The Kurdistan region is under threat from 122mm rockets
based in Nineveh and has also been targeted by 107mm rockets smuggled closer to
Erbil by militias. Drones have also been used because pro-Iran militias have
difficulty penetrating the wall of security that the autonomous Kurdish region
musters. However Iran now has the US in its sights and has apparently ordered
its militias, likely via the IRGC, to begin a full-court press against the US.
This militias include Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.
Update: The attack reportedly involved both rockets and
missiles. Sources said at least 20 rockets and 3 drones were used. This would
make it the largest attack so far on US forces and on Erbil. Iran has used
cruise missiles and drone combinations in the past, attacking Saudi Arabia's
Abqaiq in 2019 with missiles and drones. Footage in Erbil showed a fire and
sirens as the attack unfolded. The airport was said to be closed due to the
attack. Kataib Hezbollah had warned in recent days it had underground hidden
rockets it could use. The major attack will force the Biden administration to
consider a retaliation. It is believed that pro-Iran militias have large stores
of rockets and drones as well as ballistic missiles in Iraq and Syria.
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