The airbase, located 77 kilometers northeast of Erbil city, was targeted by two suicide drones at around 11:30PM and later at 12:40AM, according to the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD), also known as Kurdistan CT.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran and affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), took responsibility for the strikes in the early hours of Thursday, claiming that the drones had “hit their targets directly.”
US troops in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and Syria, have been the target of a series of rocket and drone attacks by pro-Iran militias since mid-October, in response to Washington supporting Israel in its war against Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday said the recent drone and rocket attacks on the US-led global coalition forces in Iraq are “extremely dangerous” for Iraq and the Region. He called on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to “prevent outlaw forces from creating issues for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a quick, unannounced visit to Baghdad on Sunday evening emphasizing in a meeting with Sudani that the attacks on US forces were “unacceptable,” and that Washington will do whatever is necessary to protect American interests and personnel.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on US troops in Iraq and Syria. Harir airbase has been targeted multiple times since October 17.
