US Base in Erbil Airport was attacked by armed drones with explosives strapped to it. The target US troops still present in Northern Iraq are on alert for assaults directed against them and coalition countries.
Reports say the drone was knocked from the air outside the airport. A BBC correspondent, Nafiseh Kohnavard, was there when the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down.
This was verified by Reuters that the armed drone was supposed to be for the US base on the airport grounds.
Prior attacks that were reported had three armed drones and 20 rockets were launched against the base, but security forces say that only one drone was used in the newest attack.
Sneak attack
An American official, Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for U.S. Operation Inherent Resolve wrote on Twitter, the attack happened at 11:15 PM local time. He verified that only one drone exploded in the attack in the Erbil Air Base, reported the Daily Mail.
Reports say that there is no one injured, nor casualties, and substantial damage. Authorities will follow up on the updates for more information.
One US Department of Defense (DoD) spokesperson gave a statement to Politico, saying the attack was known by the department. Lara Seligman of Politico got the DoD statement and Tweeted it after receiving it.
DOD spox: “We are aware of reporting of a UAS incident in the vicinity of Erbil, Iraq. At this time, initial reports indicate no structural damage, injuries or casualties.” https://t.co/MZPyssN7IQ
— Lara Seligman (@laraseligman) July 6, 2021
The statement from DoD stated that the UAS attack near Erbil airport was received. To date, there are significant injuries, damage, or casualties to be concerned about. The US Base in Erbil Airport was attacked by armed drones and is under siege by dissidents.
A video is released
According to the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Forces that allegedly released a video of the drone attack, Aurora intel was the source of the video from the UAS attack on the airport.
This video on social media claims to depict the airport turning dark after the alleged rocket assault when the footage shows flames bursting into the night sky.
Another news outlet reported that the counterterrorism directorate mentioned that the airport was attacked by UAS at 10:30 pm. A fire was seen on the site where the incident occured.
One claim by Rudaw Turkey on Twitter said that an unreported fire was small-scale that was kept from the news. After the failed attack of the drone that was revealed by the news outlet, images on the reported video were supposed to have sirens ringing at the US consulate in Erbil.
Another video was posted on social media by independent journalist Raveen Aujmaya, which said the airport is now open after it was closed due to the rocket barrage.
More local reports
A story by the Iraqi satellite television channel Dijlah stated that the airport's director declared that air traffic was not affected by the drone assault, said one Twitter user.
One major media outlet said the same thing, no injuries or damage from the armed UAS. But one dissident group, the Saraya Awliya al-Dam warned of another threat after this attack. They said that if enemies hide their losses, the number of Zionists killed in this recent attack will be told.
This attack comes after a day when rockets and drones attacked the Ain al-Asad airbase, US Embassy in Baghdad. US Base in Erbil Airport was attacked by armed drones but several media account contest the initial claims by officials.
