Rockets hit Baghdad airport compound, disused civilian plane damaged

28 January 2022 - 13:27 By John Davison
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Baghdad International Airport
Baghdad International Airport
Image: 123RF/ rasoulali

Several rockets landed in the Baghdad International Airport compound and near an adjacent US airbase on Friday, damaging at least one disused civilian aeroplane, Iraqi police sources said.

The police sources did not report any other damage or any injuries. The damaged aircraft was an out-of-use Iraqi Airways plane, they said.

Iraq's state news agency reported, citing the country's aviation authority, that there was no disruption to travel.

The US airbase, known as Camp Victory, is located around the perimeter of Baghdad's civilian airport.

Rocket attacks have regularly struck the complex in recent years and are blamed by US and some Iraqi officials on Iran-aligned Shi'ite militia groups who oppose the US military presence in the region.

On January 5, Katyusha rockets hit Iraqi military bases hosting US forces near Baghdad's international airport and west of the Iraqi capital.

A series of attacks this month, some of which the US blames on Iran-aligned militia groups, have targeted bases or installations hosting US military and diplomatic personnel but have caused no US casualties.

The Iran-aligned militia have in previous years carried out dozens of similar attacks, mostly causing little harm. But the attacks have become more sophisticated in the past year, including with the use of fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones.

Reuters

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