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Fighter jets carrying explosives are targeting a town in northern Iraq where US troops are stationed, hours after the US military said it had ended its 13th night of airstrikes on Iran.
US-led forces intercepted and shot down five drones in Irbil on Friday morning, according to security officials in northern Iraq. “Fortunately, the incident did not cause damage to anyone,” they said.
An Associated Press reporter heard at least seven explosions in the city, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and saw at least four black smoke plumes rising from areas near or inside the city’s airport, where American troops are stationed. Flights continued as normal at the airport, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported, citing the agency’s director.
US military officials in Iraq did not respond to a request for comment.
In recent years, the US has kept about 2,500 troops in Iraq to train and conduct operations against the Islamic State group and the Iraqi army. Many of those have since withdrawn, but a number of military advisers and others remain – most of whom have moved to Irbil.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has urged people in neighboring countries not to travel to bases with US troops while asking people to report the places where they are stationed, according to a statement read on state television.
Since the US bombed Iran, Tehran has targeted several countries in the region that host US troops.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say they have struck two Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Red Sea, threatening another vital waterway and potentially leading to major economic disruption.
Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, said it had intercepted and fired on Iranian airstrikes on Friday. It did not say if there were any injuries or damage.
Tensions between the US and Iran have flared up again after a weeks-long lull that began in June. In recent days, the US has hit Iran when Tehran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted US assets and allies in the region.
The latest photo of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei circulating in the Iranian media was edited or created using Google AI. Khamenei has not been seen in public since the US-Israeli attack that killed his father and other members of his family on February 28.
Iran’s Ministry of Health said 55 people have been killed and more than 600 injured in strikes in recent weeks, while the US saw four service members killed last week.
US strikes overnight hit a Revolutionary Guard military base in northern Iran, the unofficial Fars and ISNA media said on Friday morning. US bombing overnight was also reported on the Iranian island of Qeshm, a base for naval assets including boats used by Iran to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Explosions were also heard in Isfahan province, home to Iran’s largest air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites.
‘Great military punishment’
US Central Command said the latest violence was aimed at “decreasing Iran’s ability to threaten illegal sailors and commercial vessels passing through regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and can charge a toll in the toll, which was open to all toll-free before the war.
Iran-allied Houthi rebels added pressure on commercial shipping this week by targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, making good on threats to cut off another route through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to export oil from the region. Brent crude, the international benchmark, topped $100 US a barrel on Thursday after the attack, although the rate has fallen.
US President Donald Trump has threatened “massive military punishment” against both Iran and the Houthis if the naval attacks continue.
The International Maritime Organization says at least 6,000 sailors are trapped on about 400 ships around the Strait of Hormuz.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, called Friday an “urgent step” to help them. His office said seafarers face wars and others are abandoned by ship owners, leaving them “able to survive without food, water, fuel, health care, electricity or means of communication with their families.”
