UPDATE 2 - Iraq's Erbil airport targeted by drone: KRG

ADDS REACTIONS TO ATTACK

By Bekir Aydogan

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq was hit by an explosives-laden drone, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said Wednesday.

The military section of the airport where US-led international coalition forces are deployed was targeted in the attack, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

No casualties have been reported, although a warehouse suffered damage, it added.

Earlier in the day, KRG security officials said in a statement that the airport was hit by at least one rocket.

An explosion was also heard near the area, and an investigation into the incident has been launched, the ministry said earlier in a statement.

- 'Attack threatens Iraq's national interests at highest level'

KRG President Nechirvan Barzani condemned the attack in a Twitter post.

He noted that the attack on the airport and rocket attack on the Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq will lead to more tension and instability in the country and threaten Iraq's national interests at the highest level.

Barzani also pointed out the importance of international cooperation and coordination to combat the groups behind such attacks.

Condemning the attack on the Bashiqa military base, Aydin Maruf, the KRG's minister responsible for ethnic and religious groups, who is also an executive committee member of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, offered his condolences over the Turkish soldier who was martyred in the incident.

Noting that the recent attacks are seen as a clear threat to the region, Maruf pointed out that the illegal groups carrying them out targeted Erbil and the security and political stability of the region.