Iraq
Iraqi air force a pilot, inspects a C-130J Super Hercules propeller at Martyr Muhammad Alaa Air Base in Baghdad, Iraq on March 20, 2017. Photo: US Air Force/Wikimedia Commons
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi air base near Baghdad International Airport came under a rocket attack on Monday, destroying a transport aircraft but causing no casualties, Iraq’s defense ministry reported a day after it said its forces had foiled another rocket attack in Kirkuk.
In a statement, the ministry said that at 1:00 am local time on Monday, the Martyr Mohammed Alaa Air Base, adjacent to Baghdad International Airport, “was targeted by 122 mm Grad rockets launched from the outskirts of the capital.”
The attack “resulted in the destruction of an Antonov-132 aircraft belonging to the Iraqi Air Force, with no human casualties reported,” the ministry added, noting that “the relevant authorities have begun taking the necessary measures to assess the damage and trace the sources of the rocket launches.”
The defense ministry condemned the attack as a “cowardly criminal act targeting the military institution and its defense capabilities,” noting that the arms, equipment, and aircraft in its possession “belong to this nation, and any attack on them is considered an act of sabotage.”
It further emphasized the readiness of the Iraqi armed forces to counter “any attempt to undermine Iraq’s security and sovereignty.”
A day earlier, Iraqi forces “thwarted an attempted Katyusha rocket launch” in Kirkuk, seizing “a platform that included two launch bases and four rockets ready for immediate firing,” the defense ministry reported.
The Kirkuk Operations Command said the operation was “part of ongoing efforts by Iraqi armed forces to pursue terrorist elements and foil their sabotage plans,” reaffirming the “utmost readiness and constant vigilance of security forces in ensuring the safety and stability of citizens.”
Also a day earlier, the Iran-aligned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) reported that three of its fighters were killed and four others wounded in what it described as a “treacherous Zionist-US attack” near Kirkuk International Airport.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi army said on Thursday that it shot down an unidentified low-flying drone in the village of al-Fakhira, under Kirkuk Operations Command, at around 11:00 am local time, with no casualties reported. The statement came shortly after a separate drone attack targeted an Iraqi army position in Rutba district, western Anbar province near the Syrian border, earlier the same day.
The surge in drone and missile attacks in Iraq comes as the US and Israel on February 28 launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) reporting on Saturday that more than 11,000 targets across Iran have been struck so far.
In response, Tehran has launched thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets in the region, particularly in Gulf Arab states, and has launched retaliatory attacks against Israel.
Iran’s response has also involved Iraqi armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ with several factions claiming responsibility for attacks on purported US targets in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
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