File image.
Late on May 1, a rocket attack targeted the district of Khabat in Erbil province in the heart of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
In a statement, the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism in Kurdistan said that at least six rockets landed near Badinan river without causing any casualties or material losses. According to the agency, the rockets were launched from the district of Bartella in the nearby province of Nineveh.
The attack was carried out with an improvised Grad 122 mm rocket launcher hidden in the trunk of a mini truck. The launcher self-destructed after the attack.
According to the Sabereen News channel on Telegram, the target of the rocket attack was an oil refinery run by the Kurdistan-based Kar Company. This is yet to be confirmed.
Click to see full-size image. Source: Sabereen News (t.me/sabreenS1).
Click to see full-size image. Source: Sabereen News (t.me/sabreenS1).
Click to see full-size image. Source: Sabereen News (t.me/sabreenS1).
After the attack on Khabat, Iraqi security forces uncovered three 107 mm rockets prepared for launch near the town of al-Fadliyah in Nineveh.
Click to see full-size image. Via Twitter.
This was the second rocket attack to hit the Kurdistan region in less than a month. On April 6, a rocket attack targeted an oil refinery in the district of Khabat in the Kurdistan Region. Iranian-made Arash-4 122 mm rockets were used in the attack.
The recent attacks on Kurdistan may be the result of a power struggle between key political and economic players in the region, or an attempt by pro-Iranian forces to pressure the region’s government.
A recent report by Reuters said that the March 13 Iranian missile strike on Erbil was a response to a plan by the autonomous region to supply gas to Turkey and Europe with Israeli help. Back then, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that the target of the missile strike was an Israeli intelligence center.
