It is too early to say whether Iran directed the attack, the person said, but previous attacks by militia groups against the US and coalition forces in Iraq have been linked to Tehran.
In total, five Americans were injured in the attack: four contracted civilians and one military, according to two defense officials. In addition, one non-American contractor was killed and two non-American contractors were injured.
At least two civilians were also injured and property damage was caused to cars and other property, security officials said, without providing further details. A statement from the Kurdistan Interior Ministry said that “several people” were injured based on a preliminary investigation. The rockets were launched from an area south of Irbil, near the border with Kirkuk province, and crashed in some residential areas close to the airport.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, in accordance with the regulations.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh condemned the attack, saying in a statement posted online that it marked a “dangerous escalation”.
Kurdish officials warn Irbil residents to stay away from the targeted areas and stay in their homes, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.
Attacks on Irbil airport are rare. Monday’s attack was the first to hit the area in five months.
On September 30, when six rockets hit near the airport. Kurdish officials said they were launched from a pickup truck in the nearby town of Bartella, in the province of Ninevah, which is under the control of the federal government. Kurdish authorities blamed Shiite militia groups.
Hoshiyar Zebari, a member of the Politburo of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, said security officials were investigating the source of the attack. “There will be consequences against the culprits. This aggression will not last ”, he tweeted.
Rocket attacks often target the US presence in Baghdad, including the U.S. Embassy, as well as convoys carrying materials for the US-led coalition.
The frequency of the attacks decreased at the end of last year, before Biden took office. The U.S., under Trump’s previous administration, blamed Iran-backed groups for carrying out the attacks. Tensions increased after a drone attack directed by Washington that killed Iranian general Qassim Soleimani and the powerful leader of the Iraqi militia Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last year.
Trump said the death of a U.S. contractor would be a red line and would trigger a U.S. escalation in Iraq. The December 2019 murder of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack in Kirkuk triggered an eye-to-eye fight on Iraqi soil that brought the country to the brink of a proxy war.
US forces have been significantly reduced in Iraq to 2,500 troops and are no longer engaged in combat missions with Iraqi forces in ongoing operations against the Islamic State group.
Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.