US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged to support his country to investigate the missile attack that targeted a US base near Erbil airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on Monday night, leaving one dead and nine wounded, including Americans, while the United Nations warned that the situation would get out of control after the attack.

The US State Department said in a statement that Minister Blinken expressed in a phone call today with the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, about Washington's support for all efforts to investigate the Erbil attack in order to hold the perpetrators accountable.

The US Secretary of State also spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi about the missile attack, which an unknown group claimed responsibility for.

A statement by the International Coalition to Combat ISIS said that rocket-propelled grenades fell inside and near Erbil International Airport, and an Iraqi military source said that 14 rockets hit the airport.

Al-Kazemi ordered the formation of a joint investigation committee between Baghdad and Erbil to determine responsibility for the missile strikes on Erbil Airport (Al-Jazeera)

Investigation Committee

Yesterday, the Iraqi Prime Minister directed the formation of a joint investigation committee between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil, to determine the party responsible for the attack, and Iraqi President Barham Salih described the attack as a dangerous escalation and a criminal terrorist act targeting national efforts to protect the country's security and the safety of citizens.

President Saleh said that there is no choice but to strengthen efforts to root out the forces of terrorism and attempts to plunge the country into chaos.

He described what was happening as a battle of the state and sovereignty against terrorism and outlaws.

A group called the Awliya al-Dam Brigades claimed the attack, saying it had targeted the US occupation.

The group did not reveal its affiliation, but non-governmental media reports say that it is one of the Iraqi Hezbollah factions, linked to Iran, and affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces.

The White House said that the United States has not identified who carried out the Erbil attack, and that it is studying its circumstances, and a White House spokesman added that the latter was angry at the attack, which killed a civilian contractor and wounded 5 Americans.

Tire after the Erbil missile attack ... Residents are cleaning debris and broken glass.


AFP pic.twitter.com/UQOyQfaQTl

- IrfaaSawtak Speak Up (@IrfaaSawtak) February 16, 2021

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he had contacted his Iraqi counterpart, Jumah Stubborn Saadoun, and Secretary Austin said that his country "is committed to supporting the efforts of our Iraqi partners in defending the sovereignty of Iraq."

In his speech to a virtual session of the Security Council, Richard Mills, Acting US representative to the United Nations, stressed that his country pledges its support to all efforts to investigate, "in order to uncover those responsible for these heinous acts and hold them accountable."

A UN warning

In the same context, the United Nations today warned of the situation getting out of control in Iraq after the missile attack, and the head of the United Nations mission to Iraq, Hennes Blasshardt, said that the close cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to bring the perpetrators to justice is now of the utmost importance.

And Blashart added during a session of the UN Security Council that "Iraq must build its local resilience and be protected from rivalries, a responsibility that the Iraqis themselves first share."

The UN official added, during a briefing to the Security Council, that the missile strikes "aim to inflame tensions," and called for creating a safe environment for holding early, fair parliamentary elections in Iraq, next October.

On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said today, "We have no connection with the Erbil attack and we reject any act that endangers the security of Iraq," adding, "We condemn the suspicious attempts to accuse Iran of being behind the attack on Erbil airport."

"These events raise suspicions, and the Iraqi government must take measures to hold the perpetrators accountable," he told official media.

This is the third time that Erbil airport has been bombed, as Iran had previously bombed it in response to the killing of the Iranian Quds Force commander, General Qassem Soleimani, in January of last year.

It was also bombed with "Katyusha" rockets last September.