A previous attack on an American base near Erbil Airport (Anatolia)
Reuters reported - citing security sources - that defense systems shot down an armed drone on Thursday over Erbil Airport in northern Iraq, where American and other international forces are stationed at a nearby military base.
The Counter-Terrorism Service in the Iraqi Kurdistan region denied the incident and said - in a statement - that "no drone was shot down."
On the other hand, two security sources confirmed that an armed drone was intercepted and shot down at around 7:10 pm local time, and an explosion was heard near the airport.
Last week, the Counter-Terrorism Service in Iraqi Kurdistan announced the downing of another explosive drone that was targeting the international coalition forces and the American forces stationed near Erbil airport.
A day earlier, the agency confirmed that a similar attack had occurred, for which the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" claimed responsibility.
American officials reported that more than 100 attacks had occurred against American interests in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, days after the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Most of these attacks were claimed by the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq", which includes armed factions allied with Iran and linked to the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Washington deploys 2,500 soldiers in Iraq, and about 900 in Syria as part of the fight against ISIS within the international coalition established in 2014.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters