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Contractor killed, service member injured in rocket attack in Iraq's Kurdistan region

Defense Department Journalists
Posted at 8:22 PM, Feb 15, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-15 22:22:48-05

A rocket attack in Iraq’s Kurdistan region killed a civilian contractor and injured several members of the Coalition, including one American service member and several American contractors, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement late Monday.

Blinken did not say who was behind the attack.

The attack happened near Iraq's Erbil International Airport.

As of last month, 2,500 US troops remained station in Iraq.

“We express our condolences to the loved ones of the civilian contractor killed in this attack, and to the innocent Iraqi people and their families who are suffering these ruthless acts of violence,” Blinken said in a statement. “I have reached out to Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the incident and to pledge our support for all efforts to investigate and hold accountable those responsible.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government said in a statement that the city of Ebril was targeted by rockets. Ebril has a population of 1.5 million, and is the largest city in the region.

The Kurdistan region has had a frosty relationship with the Iraqi government, which prompted the area to hold an independence referendum from the rest of Iraq.