TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that they struck US bases with missiles and drones in Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported.
The Guards said they “carried out a coordinated missile and drone attack on US bases in Erbil” that destroyed a maintenance centre, warehouses and the “guidance system of a US surveillance aerostat”, according to a statement carried by state-run IRNA news agency.
Since the start of the Middle East war, the northern Kurdistan region, where US-led anti-jihadist coalition troops are deployed, has been a target for attacks carried out by Iran or pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups.
Iraqi Kurdish counterterrorism forces said on Wednesday that “the coalition forces downed ten explosive-laden drones in the airspace of Erbil province between 01:13 and 03:31 am” local time, without causing casualties.
An AFP journalist reported hearing explosions near Erbil’s airport, which hosts coalition troops.
Drone attacks have previously repeatedly targeted Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, which is also home to a major US consulate complex.
The Kurdistan region is also home to exiled Iranian Kurdish rebels who have also been a primary target for missile and drone attacks, blamed on Iran.
