Reckless rocket attack in Iraq threat to stability: UN
Nato defence ministers set to expand the military alliance’s training mission once the coronavirus pandemic eases, say diplomats
The United Nations ( UN) warned on Tuesday that Iraq could spin out of control ater a rocket atack on the Kurdish regional capital Erbil killed a foreign contractor for the US military and wounded several other people.
The UN’S top representative in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-plasschaert, slammed the atack on Tuesday morning.
“Such heinous, reckless acts pose grave threats to stability,” she posted on Twiter, calling for “restraint” and cooperation between the federal and regional governments on a probe.
On Monday evening, more than a dozen 107mm rockets — the same calibre used in atacks in Baghdad — were fired from around 8km west of Arbil.
They appeared to be targeted at a military complex in Arbil airport that hosts foreign troops deployed as part of a Us-led coalition helping Iraq fight militants since 2014.
But they struck all over the northwest of the city, including residential neighbourhoods where they wounded five civilians, the Arbil health directorate said.
Coalition spokesman Wayne Maroto said three rockets hit Arbil airport, killing one foreign civilian contractor who is not an American national.
Another nine people were wounded, including eight civilian contractors and one US soldier, he said.
By Tuesday morning, the remnants of the rockets had been cleared, leaving small craters in the paved streets of Erbil and in the plaster walls outside homes.
“Of course this bombing affected us — it put our lives at risk,” said resident Nariman Mohammad, 51.
“I don’t see any meaning to any of this. We’re also people, and we want to live.” Ater being closed to flights throughout the morning, Arbil airport resumed its normal schedule at midday (0900 GMT), a government spokesman said.
Late Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “outraged” by the atack and pledged US support in holding those responsible to account.
“I have reached out to Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the incident and to pledge our support for all efforts to investigate and hold accountable those responsible,” he said.
Barzani had earlier condemned the atack “in the strongest terms,” while Iraqi President Barham Saleh called it a “dangerous escalation and a criminal terrorist act.” The atack late Monday was the first time in nearly two months that Western military or diplomatic installations have been targeted in Iraq ater a series of similar incidents last year that were blamed on pro-iranian Shiite factions.
Meanwhile, Nato defence ministers are set to expand the military alliance’s training mission in Iraq once the coronavirus pandemic eases, senior officials and diplomats said, potentially cementing a broader role for the Atlantic alliance in the Middle East.
Ministers are set to agree plans on Thursday during a video conference, potentially taking the mission from its current maximum of some 500 troops to around 4,000 or 5,000, four diplomats said.
Nato Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday he expected defence ministers to agree to an expanded mission, with more allied personnel working in more security institutions across Iraq.
“The mission will expand gradually, in response to the situation,” he said.
Nato has had a non-combat, “train-and-advise” mission in Baghdad since October 2018 but plans to expand it were delayed, in part, by COVID-19 and also due to concerns about regional stability ater a US drone killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad on Jan.3. 2020.
Nato will likely take over some of the training activities carried out by the Us-led coalition against Daesh.
The allied mission, involving allies including Britain, Turkey and Denmark and led by a Danish commander, is seen as more acceptable to Iraqis than a US training force, diplomats said.
Currently, the Nato mission only trains and advises members of the Iraqi security institutions and forces who are under the direct control of the Iraqi government.