ERBIL – A civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on a U.S. military base in Kurdish northern Iraq on Monday, injuring five other people, including a U.S. official, the U.S. coalition said in Iraq.
It was the deadliest attack on US leaders in Iraq for nearly a year, with tensions escalating between US troops, their Iraqi and Kurdish allies on the one hand and the military militants on the other.
“We are furious about today’s rocket attack in the Iraqi Kurdistan region,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Monday night. “We extend our condolences to the loved ones of the civilian contractor killed in this attack, and to the innocent Iraqi people and their families who are enduring these ruthless acts of violence. I reached out to Kurdistan Regional Government Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the incident and to pledge our support for all efforts to investigate and hold those responsible.
A coalition spokesman said on Twitter that the attack hit coalition forces in the Kurdish regional capital Erbil.
Kurdish security sources said at least three rockets landed near the Erbil International Airport in the autonomous region late at night. Reuters reporters heard several loud explosions and saw a fire break out near the airport.
U.S. troops occupy a military base adjacent to the civilian airport.
A statement from the Kurdish Interior Ministry said a number of rockets had been fired at around 21:30 local time in the direction of Erbil and its outskirts and that some people had been injured, but this provided no further details.
The latest deadly attack on the coalition killed one British and two American staff in March last year.
Abigail Williams contributed.