Erbil airport struck by rockets, suspending flights

Shafaq News/ A rocket attack on Monday targeted the Erbil International Airport shortly after two similar attacks on the US Consulate and Harir base, both located in the capital city of the Kurdistan region.

The number of attacks targeting the coalition, which deployed troops to Iraq to fight the Islamic State group, has surged since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.

In Monday's incident a rocket was launched towards a base close to Erbil airport, a source told Shafaq News Agency.

"Air defense systems downed some of the rockets after the sirens sounded. Other rockets landed in the vicinity of the airport," the source said. "It is not immediately clear whether the attack resulted in casualties or material damages."

Another source told Shafaq News Agency that the airport administration has opted to suspend flights in the aftermath of the attack.

That base is also home to US and coalition forces.

Islamic Resistance in Iraq is a loose formation of armed groups affiliated with the Hashed al-Shaabi coalition of former paramilitaries that are now integrated into Iraq's regular armed forces.

Similar attacks have been claimed by Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes US support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In early December, the US embassy in Baghdad was targeted with rocket fire. That attack, the first of its kind since the start of the war in Gaza, was not claimed by any group.

The office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced several arrests and said some had links to the security services.

Washington has around 2,500 soldiers deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria. The international coalition has been fighting the Islamic State group since 2014