Iraqi Kurds Fear Escalation of Iran-Backed Rocket Attacks
Voice of America
WASHINGTON - Iraqi Kurds, who played a key role in the fighting against the Islamic State terror group, are now concerned about a new threat: Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
In recent weeks, the autonomous Kurdistan Region has witnessed several rocket and drone attacks targeting bases that house U.S. and foreign troops. The attacks killed at least one contractor and a Turkish soldier and wounded several others. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani last week to reaffirm Washington's "commitment to the stability of Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region," according to a statement by the U.S. State Department. "The Secretary discussed the continued attacks on Iraqi, U.S., and Coalition forces, including the April 14 attack on the Erbil International Airport," the statement said. "The Secretary and Prime Minister agreed that these attacks represent an egregious violation of Iraqi sovereignty."A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.