In a daring attack on Saturday, unidentified suicide drones targeted the Harir airbase in Iraq’s northern province of Erbil, which houses United States troops.
Reports revealed that the base had been evacuated as the drones struck around 12:35 pm, causing damage to the infrastructure but resulting in no casualties.
Witnesses in the area reported hearing loud explosions as the attack unfolded.
Reuters, citing two unnamed security sources, reported that the airbase sustained damage from the assault. This incident follows a similar attack just two days earlier when two suicide drones targeted the base’s oil storage facility, resulting in a fire.
While there has been no immediate official confirmation or claim of responsibility for the attack, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a pro-Iran militia group, has asserted responsibility for numerous drone and rocket attacks against US troops in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and Syria over the past month.
The group cites Washington’s support for Israel in its conflict with Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip as the motive behind these attacks.
Since October 17, a total of 46 attacks on US troops have occurred, with 24 in Iraq and 22 in Syria, according to Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.
In response, US State Secretary Antony Blinken, during a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in Baghdad, emphasized the unacceptability of these attacks.
Blinken pledged that Washington would take necessary measures to protect American interests and personnel and urged Sudani to pursue the attackers.
Prime Minister Sudani condemned the repeated strikes on bases hosting US troops on October 23, emphasizing that the American presence in the country is on an official invitation to support and train Iraqi security forces.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani echoed concerns about the attacks, labeling them “extremely dangerous” for Iraq and the region. Barzani called on Iraq’s prime minister, as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to prevent outlaw forces from causing further issues and urged restraint amid regional tensions.
