Drone attacks target Iraq airport and oil field

A drone packed with explosives was shot down near Erbil airport on Monday, with two more later hitting an oil field in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Kurdish security forces said.

"At 2:20 a.m. an explosive-laden drone was downed near Erbil International Airport, without causing casualties or damage," said the counterterrorism services of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.

The drone was the second intercepted this month near the airport, which hosts U.S. troops from an international anti-jihadist coalition.

Later on Monday, authorities announced that two drones had hit an oil field. 

"At 8:20 p.m. and 8:25 p.m. two explosive-laden drones fell in the Khurmala oil field in Erbil province without causing casualties," the Kurdish counterterrorism services said.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command said in a statement that "two drones targeted" the Khurmala field, causing material damage. 

It added that it was coordinating with Kurdistan's security forces to investigate the attack.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the three drones. 

In the past few weeks, Iraq has seen a spate of drone and rocket attacks.

On July 3, authorities said a drone was downed near Erbil airport, with the regional interior ministry blaming the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) for the attack.

The PMF – Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic – is a coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries now integrated into the regular armed forces.

The federal government in Baghdad rejected the accusation against "an official Iraqi security institution."

Erbil airport was frequently targeted by rocket and drone attacks in previous years.

Long plagued by conflict, Iraq has been a frequent battleground for such attacks, often linked to regional proxy struggles.

The country has only recently begun to regain a measure of stability after decades of war and upheaval.