BAGHDAD, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Four explosive-laden drones were shot down on Friday evening near the U.S. consulate in Erbil in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, while a separate drone strike hit an ammunition depot in neighboring Sulaymaniyah province, local security sources said.
A Kurdish security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the four drones were intercepted in the vicinity of the U.S. consulate in Erbil, causing no casualties.
In Sulaymaniyah province, a booby-trapped drone struck a weapons warehouse in the Tasluja area in the namesake provincial capital in the evening, according to the source.
The attack ignited a massive fire inside the facility, which triggered secondary explosions from the stored munitions, the source said, adding that civil defense teams rushed to the site immediately and are currently working to contain the blaze.
Earlier in the day, a local security source said that nine members of an Iranian Kurdish opposition party were killed, and at least three others were injured in an Iranian ballistic missile strike targeting their positions in Sulaymaniyah province.
The incident came amid heightened tensions across the Middle East as the United States and Iran have exchanged attacks over the past few days. The United States conducted strikes on Iranian targets, while Iran responded by striking U.S. bases and facilities across the region. ■
