On Wednesday, a drone equipped with explosives attacked a US air base in northern Iraq, according to US and Iraqi officials. No casualties were reported at the base, which doubles as an airport in the city of Erbil, according to a statement made by the interior ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The attack consisted of a drone landing on a storage hangar outfitted with explosives that were later set off, setting fire to the area. The fire was later extinguished before the situation worsened.
No groups have claimed responsibility for the attack so far, however, tensions at the base have been high since February, when a contractor working for the US forces was killed in an attack. In this instance, a pro-Iranian militia group claimed responsibility, for which the US launched airstrikes on an Iran-allied militant group in Syria. Iraq’s foreign minister hinted that officials suspect the same militia group was behind the most recent attack, calling it a “clear and dangerous escalation.”
