A rocket attack on a base in northern Iraq in March last year killed one British and two American personnel. Monday’s rocket attack in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq, was the deadliest against coalition forces since then. A group calling itself Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed responsibility for the attack on the US -led base, saying it targeted the “American occupation” in Iraq. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Monday the United States was “outraged” by the attack. Iraq’s government under Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has sided with the United States against Iran-aligned militias but has struggled to bring the powerful paramilitary groups under control.

Source: Egypt Independent February 16, 2021 08:15 UTC