BAGHDAD: Defence systems shot down an armed drone on Sunday over Erbil airport in northern Iraq where US and other international forces are stationed, Iraqi Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement. A group called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” said it had launched the drone to attack what it called an “occupation base”.
There were no casualties or damage to infrastructure, security sources said.
The US and international forces based in Iraq and across the border in Syria have been on high alert amid dozens of attacks on their bases since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. Sunday’s attack came less than 24 hours after two drones were shot down on Saturday evening near a northern Iraqi military base used by the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and al-Harir airbase that also hosts US forces, according to the Kurdish Regional Government. Iraqi PM Mohammed al-Sudani has ordered an investigation in coordination with the Kurdish regional security forces and pledged to pursue those responsible for Saturday’s attack, a military spokesman for the PM said on Sunday.