Drones shot down in Baghdad on anniversary of Soleimani’s death

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US-led coalition shot down two explosive-laden drones targeting a compound at Baghdad airport housing its military troops early Monday morning, an official told AFP as thousands of people mark the second anniversary of the Iranian general’s death.

A counter-rocket system responded to the drones, "and they were shot down without incident," an official from the coalition told AFP without disclosing further information on the incident.

Rudaw English emailed the coalition for a comment but  did not receive a reply.

The attack comes two years after the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.

Telegram channels affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) shared photos of the shot-down drones with the phrase “Soliemani’s revenge” written on them.

The killing of Soleimani who was the head of the Quds Force, which is the foreign arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sent US-Iran tensions soaring, and prompted a spate of rocket attacks on military bases in Iraq as Tehran threatened revenge for the general’s death.

Most of the attacks on US bases are attributed to Iran-backed militia groups who oppose the American presence in the country.

There have been at least 30 reported rocket and drone attacks on bases and facilities housing US forces and personnel in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region last year, according to data compiled by Rudaw English.

Top US general for the Middle East Marine Frank McKenzie last month warned of an uptick in offensives "on US and Iraqi personnel by Iranian-backed militias.”

Updated at 10:50 am on Tuesday