Three attacks in less than 24 hours shake Iraq’s security

An explosion rocked Baghdad’s Sadr City district on Thursday, security sources said.

One person died and 12 were injured in the blast that also destroyed five cars, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said. Medics said the death toll was higher.

Police said that the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Brig Gen Husham Khalifa Kadhum, of the Interior Ministry’s Federal Police, said the car was moving when the bomb went off.

An investigation is under way into whether it was a suicide attack or if the bomb was attached to the car to kill the driver, he said.

Thick black smoke billowed from an outdoor market in the largely Shiite district of the city as ambulances rushed to the scene.

The blast came a day after an explosives-laden drone struck a military complex at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

A previously unknown Shiite militia called Al Sabiqoon claimed responsibility for the drone attack on US-led international coalition troops late on Wednesday.

Al Sabiqoon is the latest of more than a dozen Shiite factions to emerge since a US drone attack killed Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani and Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, a leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, in January last year.

The Iran-aligned paramilitary groups called for all foreign forces, including about 2,500 Americans, to leave Iraq, calling their presence an “occupation”.

The use of a drone in Wednesday’s attack is a “new development” in the Kurdish region, said Dean Mikkelsen, a risk consultant for companies that do business in Iraq.

The attack in Erbil took place shortly after a Turkish base in northern Iraq came under attack, Iraqi security forces said.

Turkish state TV reported that a soldier was killed when a rocket hit the base in the Bashiqa region.

The US said it condemned Iran’s “destabilising actions in Iraq that have deadly consequences for Iraqi people and their neighbours”.

A previously unknown Shiite militia claimed responsibility for a drone attack on US-led coalition forces in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

The explosives-laden drone struck a military base at Erbil International Airport late on Wednesday, the regional Interior Ministry said.

The attack caused damage to a warehouse, but no casualties were reported.

A group calling itself Al Sabiqoon, or The Forerunners, said it was behind the attack.

“Our essential condition is that the [US] occupation leave the whole region or we will target their bases in all countries,” it said. The National could not independently verify the authenticity of the statement, but it was posted on a social media account linked to Iran-backed Shiite militias and was similar to statements issued by those groups.

There are about 2,500 US troops in Iraq.

In February, a rocket attack on the Erbil base killed a civilian contractor and wounded nine people, including a US service member. US officials blamed Iran-backed militias.

The anti-ISIS coalition is in Iraq at the request of Baghdad, as is a Nato-led mission that trains Iraqi security forces.

Al Sabiqoon is the latest of more than a dozen Shiite militias to emerge since a US drone attack killed Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis in January last year.

The new militias claimed attacks on US assets throughout Iraq and are considered offshoots of the Popular Mobilisation Forces – a network of Iran-backed militias that operates under Iraq’s military.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi ordered an investigation into the attack in Erbil.

“The sovereignty and security of Iraq are the responsibility of the government and security forces,” he said.

“These types of terrorist acts taking place during the holy month of Ramadan are aimed at destabilising the country.”

The US State Department condemned the attack.

“The Iraqi people have suffered for far too long from this kind of violence and violation of their sovereignty,” spokesman Ned Price said.

Prime Minister of the Kurdish region, Masrour Barzani, said the incident was a “terror attack” and called for the withdrawal of unofficial militant groups from the area.

“Any armed group that is not operating under the authority of official Iraqi security forces must withdraw immediately from the Kurdistan Region’s border,” Mr Barzani said.

PMF fighters near the border said they came under attack from Kurdish Peshmerga forces on Thursday morning.

One fighter in the PMF’s 30th Brigade was wounded in the attack, the militia group said.

The brigade, also known as Liwa Al Shabak, operates near the city of Bartella, once dominated by Christians.

The US imposed sanctions on its leader, Waad Qado, in 2019 after he was accused of committing human rights abuses against Christians.

Kurdish politician Hoshyar Zebari, a former Iraqi foreign minister, said the attack in Erbil was a “clear and dangerous escalation”.

The use of a drone is a “new development” in the Kurdish region, said Dean Mikkelsen, a security expert and risk consultant for companies that do business in Iraq.

He said drones were “most often used in Yemen against Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas facilities via Houthis”, the Iranbacked rebel group.

The attack in Erbil took place shortly after strikes on a Turkish military base in northern Iraq, Iraqi security forces said.

Turkish state TV reported that a soldier was killed when a rocket hit the base in Bashiqa. Two other rockets hit a village nearby, wounding a child.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.

An explosives-laden drone struck a military base at Erbil airport, causing damage to a warehouse