At least three rockets were fired towards Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan (northern Iraq), Monday evening February 15. One hit an air base where US troops are stationed, killing a civilian employee, the US-led coalition said. Coalition spokesman Colonel Wayne Marotto told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the dead civilian employee was not Iraqi, but he was not yet able to specify his nationality.
Delovan Jalal, head of Erbil’s health department, told AFP that at least five civilians were injured, one of whom was in critical condition. A soldier was also injured.
In addition to the military complex, two rockets fell on residential areas on the outskirts of the city. This is the first time in nearly two months that such fire has targeted Western military or diplomatic installations in Iraq. The attack was claimed online by a little-known group calling themselves Awliyaa Al-Dam (“Guardians of the Blood”).
“A dangerous escalation”
Kurdistan’s interior ministry announced that security agencies had launched “A careful investigation” and called on civilians to stay at home until further notice. Security forces were deployed around the airport after the attack, while the sound of flying helicopters could be heard on the outskirts of the city, according to an AFP correspondent.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh said on Twitter that the attack was “A criminal terrorist act” and constituted “A dangerous escalation” for security in the region. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan, condemned the attack “In the strongest terms”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken contacted Mr. Barzani to discuss the incident : “I assured him of all our support to investigate and hold those responsible to account. “
Two sources in the field of intelligence told AFP that the rockets had been launched from inside the autonomous region. And an American officer clarified that the projectiles were 107 millimeter rockets that had been fired from a distance of 8 kilometers west of Erbil.
Rocket fire stopped during a truce
Western military and diplomatic installations have been targeted in Iraq since the fall of 2019 by dozens of rockets as well as bomb attacks on the road network, but most of these actions were carried out in Baghdad.
Iranian missiles were, however, fired towards Erbil airport in January 2020, a few days after the murder of Iranian General Ghassem Soleimani by an American drone strike in Baghdad.
Rockets were then fired regularly at the American embassy in the Iraqi capital, with American and Iraqi officials blaming pro-Iranian militias, such as the Kataeb Hezbollah group or Asaïb Ahl Al-Haq. These groups fight against the coalition led by the United States, which has been operating in Iraq since 2014 to help local forces in their fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). Since Iraq declared victory over ISIS at the end of 2017, foreign troops have been reduced to 3,500 soldiers, including 2,500 Americans.
Despite the gradual withdrawal of foreign troops, rocket attacks continued, much to the dismay of the United States. Washington had threatened in October to close its embassy if the attacks did not stop. After which several pro-Iran Iraqi factions agreed to a negotiated truce under the aegis of the Iraqi government. The rocket fire has almost stopped.
Monday’s shooting came amid growing tensions in northern Iraq, where neighboring Turkey is waging intense fighting against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara calls terrorist. Turkey regularly carries out attacks in the mountainous areas of northern Iraq against the rear bases of the PKK.