Kurdistan

[Schneemann]

Offenbar kommt es aktuell verstärkt zu iranischen Drohnenaktivitäten im Nordirak bzw. in den dortigen kurdischen Siedlungsgebieten. Die Iraner zielen dabei offenkundig auf die US-Einrichtungen vor Ort, vor allem in Erbil.

Deadly Drone Attack Shows Iraqi Kurdistan Urgently Needs Air Defenses

The majority of residents in Iraqi Kurdistan have endured prolonged and chronic electricity cuts since a deadly drone attack against the autonomous region’s Khor Mor gas field on Wednesday night. The attack caused an enormous fire and has temporarily interrupted up to 80 percent of the region’s electricity supply, reducing it from 24 hours to as little as five. It struck at the core of Iraqi Kurdistan’s efforts to generate reliable 24/7 electricity for its residents. [...]

In his statement condemning the attack, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani urged “our American and international partners to provide the defensive equipment necessary to protect our civilian infrastructure.” It wasn’t the first time Prime Minister Barzani highlighted the autonomous region’s worrying lack of air defense. In early 2024, he urged the U.S. to supply systems. [...]

Iran had also fired a barrage of ballistic missiles directly into the capital city, Erbil, killing a businessman and members of his family that January. It was Tehran’s second direct ballistic missile attack against the Kurdish capital in less than two years. [...]

The U.S. has previously suggested it would provide Iraqi Kurdistan the means to defend itself from such attacks. It has also deployed a MIM-104 Patriot system to Erbil to shield its troops on occasion, although not permanently. And it’s previously pledged to provide Iraq and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces with unspecified air defenses.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2...-defenses/

Schneemann