ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A coordinated drone attack targeted the Kurdish capital Erbil late Friday but was intercepted by US-led coalition forces, the Kurdistan Region’s Counter-Terrorism Service (CTG) reported, as local officials told Rudaw the assault occurred near a high-end hotel and residential compound in the heart of the city.
The attack, reportedly claimed by an Iran-linked shadowy armed group, came shortly after the American embassy in Baghdad warned that areas frequented by foreigners and international officials in the Kurdistan Region were likely to be targeted by Tehran-backed militias.
The assault
In a statement on Facebook, the CTG reported that at 22:41 local time on Friday, the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) forces “intercepted and shot down four suicide drones in the skies over Erbil.
“Debris from one drone fell in an open area near a hotel; however, no casualties or injuries were reported,” the CTG added.
Meanwhile, Erbil Governor Omed Xoshnaw told Rudaw that the drone fell near the Rotana Arjaan Hotel and Sky Tower residential compound northwest of the city, noting that the drones were “destroyed” before impact.
In a separate statement on Facebook, Xoshnaw said that Erbil has been repeatedly “targeted by groups operating outside the law, seeking to carry out terrorist acts,” despite the city not being “involved in [ongoing regional] conflicts” and the Kurdistan Region’s role as a peaceful and reconciliatory hub in the region.
However, “these lawless groups continue their terrorist activities,” the Erbil governor added, urging Baghdad to promptly “take action” to address these actions.
Xoshnaw further slammed the “treacherous and terrorist actions that target civilians” in the Kurdistan Region, affirming the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) commitment to “maintaining the security of the land and the people … at the highest level” and to “confronting wrongdoers and terrorists.”
#BREAKING: Smoke rises from a building at Erbil’s Sky Tower residential project after it was hit by a suspected Iranian projectile. pic.twitter.com/PsFVw7Tlg6