ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US-led coalition defense personnel at Erbil province's Harir airbase responded to an attempted drone attack on Monday, a military spokesperson for the coalition told Rudaw English on Wednesday, adding that the US-led global coalition is investigating the incident which damaged adjacent homes and vehicles.
At least 11 houses and one car were hit in the center of Shaqlawa’s Basrma district as result of bullets that landed in the area, Jangawar Azhgayi, the head of Basrma district, told Rudaw on Monday following the incident that was initially believed to be the result of misfire from US forces conducting practice in the Harir airbase, also referred to by the US as Bashur airbase, around 70 kilometers northeast of Erbil city. Footage submitted to Rudaw confirms the damage to properties in the area.
"Just before 10:00 PM on May 9, Coalition base defense personnel at Harir Air Base in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region attempted to engage an unmanned aerial system that posed a threat to the base and its personnel," a military spokesperson for the Coalition told Rudaw English via email on Wednesday. The base has faced previous drone attacks; on July 23, 2021, by a militia group called the Thaereen Brigade, according to a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias.
The spokesperson added that the coalition "are aware of reports alleging that rounds fired as part of our defensive measures in response to this hostile action impacted adjacent homes and vehicles."
"We are working with our partners and the Kurdistan Regional Security Council's Directorate of Counter Terrorism to engage with local Kurds and investigate these reports. There are no indications of injuries. We will continue to investigate the incident.”
Azhgayi told Rudaw on Monday that he believed the incident was a mistaken exercise, and a result of "misfire" from US forces stationed in the nearby airbase.
“At 10:00 PM, the [US] force was conducting practice specialized for shooting down drones, and that is why the bullets landed in the center of Basrma district and the security forces arrived at the scene of the incident,” the official added.
“The bullets hit my house, my brother’s house, windows, doors, everything. We were all at home but thanks to God, we’re safe,” an eyewitness whose house was hit by the misfire told Rudaw late Monday night, adding that the bullets reached as far as hitting the refrigerator inside his brother’s house.
Updated at 8:53 PM
