A rocket attack near a base housing American forces in northern Iraq killed a US-led coalition contractor and wounded at least eight other people on Monday night. A US service member and two civilians were among the injured in the 9:30 p.m. strike in between the Irbil international airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdish-run territory and the base, authorities said. (NY Post)
According to the UK’s Daily Mail:
A rocket strike on a US base in Iraq by a group believed to have links to Iran has wounded several Americans and killed a foreign contractor. More than a dozen 107mm rockets were last night fired at the military complex in Erbil airport that has hosted troops deployed as part of the international alliance fighting ISIS since 2014. The bombardment was claimed by a shadowy group calling itself ‘Guardians of Blood,’ which US forces believe is one of many which have sprung up in Iraq as fronts for pro-Iranian factions.
??Video shows the moment that one of the rockets lands in Shouqa Zakaria street near #Erbil airport pic.twitter.com/RYQu2XUzu7
— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) February 15, 2021
Rocket attacks have frequently targeted the US presence in Baghdad, but slowed down late last year. This strike was openly dedicated to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former head of Iranian proxy Kata’ib Hezbollah, and Qassem Suleimani, the most powerful Iranian in Iraq for more than a decade until both were killed in a Trump-authorised airstrike 13 months ago. It is assumed the emboldened terrorists are testing Biden. President Trump was swift and emphatic but not consistent so the Iranian groups were always unsure of his response. Biden’s more pedestrian responses, following Obama-era diplomacy methods, are emboldening Iranian forces.