February 16, 2021 7:54 am
Several wounded. The Interior Ministry confirmed that “several rockets” have hit the city, where the Pope is expected to visit in March
The Kurdistan Region Interior Ministry confirmed that “several rockets” hit the city (which among other things is the first stop of the Pope’s trip to Iraq in March) and said that the security agencies have launched ” a detailed investigation “, urging civilians to stay home until further notice. After the attack, security forces were deployed around the airport and helicopters were heard on the outskirts of the city.
Since Iraq declared victory against ISIS in late 2017, the US-led coalition has been reduced to fewer than 3,500 soldiers in total, 2,500 of them Americans, and most of it is concentrated in the military complex of the United States. Erbil airport.
Since the end of 2019, Western military and diplomatic sites have been targeted by dozens of rockets and car bombs that have resulted in the deaths of both foreign and Iraqi personnel. Erbil was very rarely targeted, although Iranian forces attacked the airport in January 2020, just days after the killing of General Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport. Former US President Donald Trump had threatened that killing a US citizen in such a missile strike would trigger a mass bombing campaign in Iraq.
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