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Iraq, Iran in Show of Force on Kurdistan Border

Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)
Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)
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Iraq, Iran in Show of Force on Kurdistan Border

Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)
Iraq and Iran kicked off joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan border. (AFP)

Iranian and Iraqi forces kicked off on Monday joint military drills near the Iraqi Kurdistan Region border, announced an Iraqi Kurdish official.

Shwan Abu Bakr, the Kurdish customs chief at the Bashmakh border post, said: “The Iranian and Iraqi forces launched the exercises 250 meters away from the Kurdistan border.”

The development comes a week after Kurdistan Iraq voted in an independence referendum that has been rejected by Baghdad, Tehran and Ankara.

"Iraqi forces are dressed in black and there is a large number of Iranian forces," Abu Bakr added according to Agence France Presse.

The black uniforms indicate that the Iraqi forces were from the country's elite Counter Terrorism Service.

The customs chief also noted armored vehicles and tanks and infantry units taking part in the military drills.

The Iranian military on its website announced joint military exercises with units of the Iraqi army involving armor and artillery units, as well as drones and other air units.

It appeared the maneuvers were the first joint military exercises between Iran and Iraq since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.

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US Troops Attacked in Syria, No Initial Reports of Injuries

US forces in the countryside of Rumalyn in the Hasakah Governorate, eastern Syria (Archives-AFP)
US forces in the countryside of Rumalyn in the Hasakah Governorate, eastern Syria (Archives-AFP)
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US Troops Attacked in Syria, No Initial Reports of Injuries

US forces in the countryside of Rumalyn in the Hasakah Governorate, eastern Syria (Archives-AFP)
US forces in the countryside of Rumalyn in the Hasakah Governorate, eastern Syria (Archives-AFP)

US troops in northeastern Syria were attacked by a drone, a US official told Reuters on Friday, although there were no injuries according to initial reports.
This is the second attack in recent days against US forces in the Middle East as the region braces for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Iran-backed Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31, an attack that drew threats of revenge by Iran against Israel, which is fighting the Palestinian group in Gaza. Iran blamed Israel for the killing. Israel has not claimed responsibility, said Reuters.
The assassination and the killing of the senior military commander of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, by Israel in a strike on Beirut, have fueled concern the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
Iran has said the US bears responsibility in the assassination of Haniyeh because of its support for Israel.
"Initial reports do not indicate any injuries, however medical evaluations are ongoing. We are currently conducting a damage assessment," the US official said on the condition of anonymity about the attack in Syria.
The attack took place at Rumalyn Landing Zone, which hosts US troops along with those from the US-led coalition.
Five US personnel were injured when two Katyusha rockets were fired at Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq on Monday, an attack the Pentagon blamed on Iran-backed proxies.
The United States has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in neighboring Iraq, who it says are on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of ISIS group, which in 2014 seized large swaths of both countries but was later pushed back.