Rockets hit US base in Iraq: 1 killed, 8 injured

Baghdad [Iraq], February 16 (ANI): Rockets struck near the Erbil international airport where US forces are based in northern Iraq on Monday killing one US-led coalition contractor and wounding at least eight other people.
According to the authorities, a US service member and two civilians were among the injured in the 9:30 pm strike in between the Irbil international airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdish-run territory and the base, New York Post reported.
Initial reports indicate at least three rockets struck the area.
Coalition spokesman Col Wayne Marotto said in a statement the attack is under investigation. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, New York Post reported.
However, Marotto did not disclose the nationality of the dead contractor.
Iraqi President Barham Saleh condemned the attack in a statement posted online, calling it a "dangerous escalation."
"The targeting of Erbil, which inflicted casualties, represents a dangerous escalation and a terrorist act targeting the national efforts to protect the security of the country and the safety of citizens. We have no choice but to firmly strengthen our efforts to root out the forces of terror and the attempts being made by some to plunge the country into chaos," President Barham Saleh wrote in a tweet.
Rocket attacks have frequently targeted the US presence in Baghdad but slowed down late last year ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration, New York Post reported
Moreover, US Former President Donald Trump had blamed the attacks on Iran-backed groups.
Last year, tensions soared between the US and Iran when a US drone attack killed top Iranian General Qassim Soleimani. (ANI)