ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani were once again targeted in renewed strikes early Saturday, coming amid near-daily attacks carried out on the region by pro-Iran Iraqi militias since the outbreak of a joint US-Israeli military offensive against Iran.

Footage received by The New Region early Saturday, around 4 am in Erbil, showed renewed strikes on the Kurdish city, though most were intercepted in the skies.

Most of the footage from Erbil came from neighborhoods near Erbil International Airport and the US Consulate General area, which hosts US forces.

Erbil's main airport has long housed a substantial US military presence that has served as a critical node of cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). 

​​The Kurdistan Region has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the war by both the Iranian military and pro-Iran militia groups inside Iraq, who cite the presence of US military bases as their rationale.

Footage an hour later emerged from Sulaimani showing the city’s Unit 70 base, which hosts Peshmerga forces and Kurdish counterterrorism units, allegedly being targeted.

No casualties have been reported, with the projectile in question having been intercepted.

The pro-Iran militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam later on Saturday claimed that it targeted Sulaimani in early Saturday in what it described as a “retaliation for the blood of God's chosen one,” read a statement from the group.

So far, no verified reports from Duhok have emerged regarding an alleged strike on a "vital target" claimed by the same militia on Saturday.

On Thursday, the Sarsang oilfield in Duhok province was targeted with drone strikes, resulting in the breakout of a fire at the facility, which is operated by the US-based HKN Energy firm.

Saraya Awliya al-Dam has targeted US forces at Erbil International Airport in the past, having claimed responsibility for a series of rocket strikes in 2021 that came as part of a vengeance campaign for the US assassination of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis the year prior.

The war between the US and Israel against Iran has seen the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials. 

Iran has retaliated, and the conflict has spilled over into regional countries, with Iraq and the Gulf regularly being targeted by Iranian strikes under the pretext of them housing US bases and interests.

A drone strike targeted the upscale Arjaan Rotana Hotel in central Erbil on Friday night, shortly after the US Embassy in Iraq warned of pro-Iranian attacks on hotels frequented by foreigners in the Kurdistan Region.

Ashab al-Kahf, a pro-Iran militia, claimed responsibility for the attack.