Drone attack targets US consulate in Iraq's northern city of Erbil

A drone exploded near the US consulate in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, the latest in a series of attacks in the area amid growing anti-American sentiments in the country.

Security sources said the US consulate's military section in the Shorsh neighborhood, located in the northern city of Erbil, was targeted by a drone attack on Wednesday at 9:35 pm local time.

They said that the drone was shot down. 

Several cars were damaged and three people were injured in the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with Iraqi anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), reported that “a safe area near United Arab Emirates’ Consulate, a few kilometers away from under-construction US consulate, was targeted by the drone attack.”

The news channel added that following the attack “smoke rose into the sky and the Kurdish forces placed the area under curfew.”

Meanwhile, a Kurdish intelligence source reported that explosions were heard in the vicinity of Erbil International Airport.

Iraq’s al-Mayadeen and Al-Ahad televisions also confirmed the attacks in separate reports.

Rockets target military base housing US forces at Baghdad airport

At least six rockets reportedly hit the Victory Base hosting US troops at Baghdad International Airport, but the extent of the damage is unclear.

US troops and bases in Iraq have frequently come under rocket and drone strikes.

Anti-US sentiments have significantly increased in Iraq since the assassination of Iran’s top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, and his associates in a US drone strike in Baghdad in early 2020.

General Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of PMU, were martyred along with their associates in a US drone strike that was authorized by then-US president Donald Trump near the Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

Two days after the dastardly attack, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that required the government to end the presence of all US-led foreign military forces in the Arab country.

Less than a week after the assassination, the IRGC launched a volley of ballistic missiles at the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, in a military operation code-named Operation Martyr Soleimani.

Iran, which vowed ‘hard revenge’ over the killing of its celebrated commander, said the missile strike was only a “first slap” and that would not rest until the US military abandons the region in disgrace.

The US-led coalition has ended its combat mission in Iran, but thousands of soldiers remain in the country in a so-called advisory and training role.

In mid-March, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles towards an area in Erbil, which housed secret bases of Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Reports, quoting Kurdistan region's intelligence sources, said as many as 12 ballistic missiles were used in the attack.

Also in May, the IRGC targeted and destroyed positions of terrorist groups operating near Erbil.

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