ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US-led Global Coalition forces shot down 10 explosive-laden drones in Erbil province early Wednesday, the Kurdistan Region’s Counter-Terrorism Directorate (CTD) announced, as Iran launched attacks targeting US positions across the Middle East amid renewed tensions with Washington.
"Coalition forces intercepted and shot down 10 explosive-laden drones within the airspace of Erbil province,” CTD said in a statement.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties," CTD said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday it launched a combined missile and drone attack on a US base in Erbil.
In a statement, the IRGC said its ground forces “carried out a combined missile and drone attack on US bases in Erbil,” destroying a maintenance facility and warehouses containing US military equipment, as well as “the system used to guide a US surveillance balloon at the base.” It also said the attack set the base’s fuel storage tanks ablaze and killed “a number of the attackers.”
The attacks came after the US launched an aerial campaign against more than 100 targets in southern Iran on Tuesday night. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US forces in several countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Two Kurdish security sources told Rudaw English on Wednesday that the IRGC struck and destroyed the US Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) surveillance balloon over Erbil during the overnight attacks. The balloon system, a ubiquitous part of Erbil’s skyline for months, was not seen Wednesday morning.
The IRGC also targeted a US position at Erbil International Airport (EIA) and camps belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) near Erbil. The KDPI said three drones struck two of its camps in Jezhnikan, about 20 kilometers north of Erbil, and the Balisan heights. It reported no casualties.
Since the US and Israel began attacks on Iran in late February, the Kurdistan Region has faced hundreds of repeated drone and missile attacks from Iran and Iraqi armed groups it backs, targeting US military positions in Erbil as well as civilian areas.
The latest strikes also follow recent attacks on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region, including the KDPI and Komala.
Both Washington and Tehran said Wednesday morning that the latest exchange of fire had ended, while warning of further escalation if new attacks occur. US President Donald Trump also threatened a stronger response to any further Iranian retaliation.
