Three rockets hit Balad airbase, no casualties: Security Media Cell

09-06-2021
Rudaw
A+ A-

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region  Three rockets hit Balad airbase in Salahaddin province on Wednesday night, Iraqi's Security Media Cell has said, with no casualties reported.

No damage was caused by the attack, the cell said on Twitter.

The base hosts US contractors but no foreign troops. Last month, it was reported that a F-16 jet maintenance company was withdrawing from Balad due to frequent rocket attacks on the base.

The base has previously been subject to frequent rocket attacks. Four Katyusha rockets hit the base in May. Two members of the Iraqi security forces were injured in a separate rocket attack on the base in April.

Attacks on Iraqi bases, especially those hosting US troops and contractors, have increased since the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in January 2020, leading to a non-binding parliamentary resolution to expel all foreign troops from the country.

Soleimani's successor, Ismail Qaani, was reported to be in Baghdad on an unofficial visit on Wednesday, according to Telegram channels affiliated to Iran-backed factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi).

 

Updated at 10:32pm

Comments

Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.

Post a comment

Required
Required
 

The Latest

Kirkuk’s Governor Rebwar Taha speaking at a press conference in Kirkuk on November 21, 2024. Photo: Rudaw

Kirkuk urges people to stay home as census enters second day

Kirkuk’s Governor Rebwar Taha on Thursday urged residents to stay home as Iraq enters the second day of its nationwide population census, emphasizing that the process is solely for development purposes.