Several missiles targeted Erbil International Airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and one landed in the old airport and led to the outbreak of fires that were controlled, in light of the talk of a number of wounded.
The director of the Al-Jazeera office, Ahmed Al-Zawiti, said that the other two missiles were diverted with anti-aircraft missiles from the International Coalition that has its headquarters at the airport, and the authorities closed the airport after the bombing.
He added that the US consulate sounded sirens after the airport was targeted, while the Ministry of Health in the region said that 3 of them, a guard of a foreign consulate, were injured in the missile attack on Erbil.
For its part, Reuters quoted sources in the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, that at least 3 mortar bombs landed near Erbil airport without causing any casualties, and the agency added that it is not clear whether the attack targeted an American military base located near the airport.
While the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Hoshyar Zebari, said that 5 missiles targeted the city of Erbil, the Ministry of Interior in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq confirmed initial information that there were injuries in the missile attack.
Urgent # |
Source: Heavy security deployment near # Erbil International Airport # Degla_Space Channel pic.twitter.com/rQrosPXOMv
- Dijlah Satellite Channel (@DijlahTv) February 15, 2021
And the French Press Agency reported, according to two security sources, that two missiles hit a residential area near the airport, while the third landed in a military compound where foreign forces led by the United States are deployed.
And Anadolu Agency quoted a brief statement of the Counter-Terrorism Service in the Kurdistan region that two missiles landed inside Erbil airport, while another missile crossed over the airspace of the airport.
A source in the provincial police told the agency that air traffic was halted at the airport due to the missile attack, and said that the police and security forces were deployed in the vicinity of the airport, fearing further attacks, and to verify the damage of the attack.
It is noteworthy that the Erbil airport was previously targeted by 6 missiles last September without any casualties, and no party has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Kurdistan Region authorities accused the Popular Mobilization factions of the Iraqi army of responsibility for the attack.