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Drone attack on Iraqi Kurdistan military base
Arbil, Iraq, Dec 31 (AFP) Dec 31, 2023
Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan said Sunday two drones struck a military base used by the autonomous region's security forces, blaming the attack on "outlaws" funded by Baghdad.

The attack on the base in Arbil province was carried out late Saturday and caused some damage but no casualties, the regional government said in a statement.

The region's peshmerga forces are allies of the US-led anti-jihadist coalition that has troops deployed in Iraq.

There was no immediate claim for the attack.

But since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, there has been a surge in attacks on US forces and their allies in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

The majority have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that oppose US support for Israel in the Gaza war.

On Sunday afternoon, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone attack which it said was aimed at US-led coalition forces stationed at Arbil airport.

Authorities in the region said the drone was shot down.

A tally by US military officials has counted 106 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17.

The prime minister of Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani, said he was "deeply alarmed" by Saturday's drone attack.

"I condemn the outlaws and their collaborators in the strongest terms possible," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

The regional government said these groups "are funded by the federal government" in Baghdad, with which it has strained relations.

The government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is backed by pro-Tehran parties.

Sudani's office said Sunday he "had ordered a thorough investigation into this criminal (drone) attack", in coordination with the Iraqi Kurdish security services.

str-lk-gde/hkb/kir

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