Three armed drones were shot down in Iraq on Tuesday near a presence of U.S. and other international troops, officials said.
Iraqi Kurdistan's counterterrorism forces announced that at around 5:05 a.m. local time, Kurdistan's military intercepted and shot down a drone over Erbil Airport in northern Iraq. It did not say whether there were any casualties or damage to infrastructure.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Similar attacks have previously been claimed by a group called the Iraqi Islamic Resistance, an umbrella organization of Iraqi militias allied with Iran.
Tuesday's attack came hours after Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired a missile at what it claimed was Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency's spy headquarters near the U.S. consulate in the northern Iraqi city.
Iran announces attacks in northern Iraq and Syria
This image taken from a video provided by Rudaw TV shows smoke rising from a building hit by an attack in Erbil, Iraq, on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Iran announced that it had launched attacks on “spy headquarters and anti-terrorist organization gatherings.” Iran's Terrorist Group'' occurred shortly after a missile landed near the US consulate in Erbil, the heart of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. (Rudaw TV via AP)
According to the Kurdistan Regional Government, an Iranian missile landed in an upscale residential area near the consulate, killing four civilians and injuring six others.
In addition to the attack in Iraq, Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced that it had fired several ballistic missiles at “terrorist operations” including destroying Islamic State targets in Syria.
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Iran supports several terrorist organizations and militias that launch attacks against Israel, the US military, and other international partners across the Middle East. (Fox News)
Since the Israeli-Hamas war broke out on October 7, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have launched near-daily drone strikes against US military bases in Iraq and Syria.
This attack was prompted by US support for Israel.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, various militias have launched more than 130 attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria. (Fox News)
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Conversely, Iran supports Hamas and its control of the Gaza Strip. Iran also provides support to the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which operates in Syria and Lebanon, and which has launched attacks against Israel in recent months.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
