ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi army spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed that air traffic at Baghdad International Airport is normal following an overnight explosion at a US-led coalition compound in the airport.
“At 23:00 on Tuesday, an explosion was heard inside Baghdad International Airport in the part that is occupied by advisors of the international coalition,” said Major General Tahseen al-Khafaji, spokesperson for Iraq’s Joint Operations Command.
“Iraqi security forces were unable to determine the cause or type of the explosion, and it was not claimed by any party,” he said, adding that air traffic at the airport continues undisrupted.
Security forces have launched an investigation into the incident.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday morning - his first foreign visit since taking office.
Iran and Iraq have shared a strong relationship since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Tehran has since increased its influence over Baghdad, and the country has dozens of armed groups who are affiliated with the Shiite rule in Tehran.
A spokesperson for Iraq’s Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah brigades claimed that the “attack” was carried out in order to “disrupt the Iranian president’s visit to Baghdad.”
“We call on the security services to reveal those involved,” Jaafar al-Hussaini said on X.
US forces in Iraq and Syria over the past year have come under hundreds of rocket and drone strikes by pro-Iran groups, angry over Washington’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza.
Baghdad is engaged in talks with the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) to wind down the mission and end the presence of foreign troops on Iraqi soil. The talks were instigated by Iraq’s anger over repeated US airstrikes on its territory.
On Sunday, an advisor to Iraq’s prime minister revealed that US-led coalition forces are set to completely leave Iraq by the end of 2025, with a gradual exit set to commence in the coming months.
Washington has described the step only as a “transition” in the coalition’s role.
Around 2,500 US troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria are leading an international coalition through Operation Inherent Resolve that has assisted Kurdish, Iraqi, and local Syrian forces in the fight against ISIS, which once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria but was declared territorially defeated in 2019.
