At least six rockets fired at Baghdad International Airport

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A volley of rockets hit Baghdad International Airport on early Friday, damaging a civilian plane, AFP reported.

The rockets landed on the runway and parking spaces of the airport, security sources told the agency. 

The attack damaged a parked civilian plane, the source confirmed. 

The Iraqi Ministry of Transportation confirmed that an “out-of-service” Iraqi Airways plane was damaged in the vicinity of the airport by the rockets. The attack did not disrupt flights. 

The airport houses the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, which belongs to the US Department of State. 

A number of Iraqi media reports said that security forces had confiscated the launcher used in the attack. 

Kurdistan 24 could not independently verify the authenticity of published photos that allegedly show that launcher. 

Iraq has witnessed a surge in rocket attacks on Baghdad airport and its highly fortified Green Zone, where the US embassy and many important government buildings are located. 

These attacks follow the announcement of Oct. 10, 2021, parliamentary election results and the second anniversary of the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi comrade by a US drone strike, 

Iraqi security forces usually describe such incidents as “cowardly terrorist attacks”, without elaborating on the identity of the perpetrators, who are invariably referred to vaguely as “armed groups”. 

In addition to rocket attacks on diplomatic and civilian sites, high-level politicians, such as Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammad al-Halbousi’s residence in Anbar, have recently been targeted. Grenades have also been thrown at offices and homes of Kurdish and Sunni MPs. 

Some Iraqi political commentators allege that these are the actions of factions that lost a significant number of seats in the October elections.