An attack by «armed drones» targeted Erbil International Airport on Saturday night, near the United States consulate in that city in northern Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism unit said, assuring that the incident caused no casualties.
The airport, home to an air base housing troops of the international anti-jihadist coalition, «suffered no damage,» the airport's director, Ahmed Hoshiar, told Agence France-Presse.
«There are no casualties from the attack carried out by two armed drones against Erbil International Airport,» the counter-terrorism service of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan said in a statement.
A French Agency correspondent reported hearing two powerful explosions and seeing black smoke in the sky, and sirens sounding from the US consulate.
Eyewitnesses told Reuters that they heard at least six explosions in the area.
The internal security service of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq initially reported that three rockets had fallen near the airport.
According to eyewitnesses quoted by Agence France-Presse, access to the airport premises has been blocked by a strong security presence.
This kind of attacks, targeting specific US troops and interests in Iraq, have been repeated regularly in recent months. No organisation has claimed responsibility for these attacks, but the US accuses pro-Iranian militias of being responsible for them.
The use of new drones has caused a headache for the international coalition, as these jets cannot be intercepted by the C-RAM arrays of air defence systems installed by the Americans to protect their military and diplomatic personnel.
In July, a drone attack was launched against Erbil International Airport in July, without causing injuries or damage to property. A few weeks earlier, another attack with three drones targeted Baghdad airport, where US troops are also deployed.
Sworn enemies, Iran and the US, both have a presence or alliances in Iraq, where Washington maintains a force of some 2,500 troops.
Last night's attack took place on the day the US commemorated the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, paying tribute to the victims of the jihadist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
