BAGHDAD, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Five drones were shot down near Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region on Friday morning, while a sixth crashed in a nearby agricultural area, a local security source said.
The source told Xinhua that a total of six drones targeted Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Five were shot down near the airport, while the sixth crashed, sparking a fire in crops and grass. Civil defense teams were dispatched to extinguish the blaze.
Erbil has come under a series of drone attacks in recent days, with the U.S. Consulate and the international coalition base near the airport among the apparent targets.
The incident came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following recent exchanges of strikes between the United States and Iran. ■
