Explosive Drone Hits Gas Field in Northern Iraq

Emergency teams at a building damaged after missiles target Erbil, Iraq, January 16, 2024 (AFP)
Emergency teams at a building damaged after missiles target Erbil, Iraq, January 16, 2024 (AFP)
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Explosive Drone Hits Gas Field in Northern Iraq

Emergency teams at a building damaged after missiles target Erbil, Iraq, January 16, 2024 (AFP)
Emergency teams at a building damaged after missiles target Erbil, Iraq, January 16, 2024 (AFP)

An explosive drone struck Khor Mor gas field in the Sulaimaniya region of northern Iraq on Thursday, two sources told Reuters, saying the explosion had caused limited damage but no one had been injured.

Earlier, the Kurdish Rudaw media network said the counterterrorism apparatuses in the Kurdistan Region shot down and destroyed a suicide drone targeting the US-led coalition forces near Erbil International Airport.

The media network did not immediately provide details but reported that a loud sound was heard in the vicinity of Erbil.

Last Wednesday, the Iraqi Al-Nujaba TV said a drone targeted US forces at the Erbil airport base.

Since Israel's war in Gaza began in October, Iraq has witnessed near-daily drone and rocket attacks by Iraqi armed groups mostly on bases housing troops belonging to the US-led military coalition in response to Washington’s support for Israel.

Also, in mid-January, Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at civilian targets in Erbil, killing a prominent Iraqi businessman and two members of his family and wounding several others. It claimed the missiles targeted spying facilities run by the Israeli Mossad.



Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis
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Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Houthi militias in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, following several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeidah, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”

Netanyahu monitored the new strikes along with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthis' media outlet confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but gave no immediate details. The US military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Houthis designated as a terrorist organisation.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Wednesday.