ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The pro-Iran Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack on Erbil International Airport with two drones, which the group claims hit their targets, in response to the killing of the late Iranian supreme leader in a joint US-Israeli attack.

“Our brave men targeted the airport base in Erbil, occupied by the American occupation, with two drones, which successfully struck their targets,” the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement.

The attack was carried out in response to the killing of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in fulfillment of their “religious duty,” and “in retaliation for the Zionist-American aggression,” according to the network of pro-Iran militia groups. 

Erbil’s airport has been subject to numerous drone and missile attacks since the initiation of the US-Israeli war on Iran, often with Iran-backed Iraqi militias claiming responsibility for the attacks, under the pretext of targeting the American presence at the site.

The 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 Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of pro-Iran Iraqi militias linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on Erbil. 

The most recent attack took place at 5:00 AM on Monday, when four powerful explosions were heard near the airport, according to The New Region’s reporter on the ground, who noted that the drones were intercepted by coalition defense systems.

The attacks have not been confined to the airport and have also targeted the broader Kurdistan Region, mainly eyeing the US Consulate, US military bases, and bases of exiled Kurdish opposition groups from western Iran (Rojhelat), although hotels and Peshmerga bases have also been targeted in recent days.

The strikes were particularly heavy on Saturday and Sunday, when debris from one downed drone killed a young airport security guard in Erbil and injured three others, while another attack on a Peshmerga unit in Sulaimani killed one.

President Masoud Barzani on Sunday condemned as a “war crime” the repeated drone and rocket strikes by armed groups on the Kurdistan Region, warning that the Region’s patience has limits and calling for an end to the “warmongering” and attacks against stability.