Kuwait suspends Iraq flights after Baghdad airport rocket attack damages planes

Kuwait Airways, country’s main carrier, says flights to Iraq suspended due to ‘current conditions’
Six rockets hit Baghdad airport damaging two Iraqi Airways planes; authorities say an attacker has been caught

Iraq

Associated Press

Published: 7:33pm, 30 Jan 2022

Why you can trust SCMP

Kuwait suspended flights to Iraq for a week starting Sunday citing security fears after a rocket attack targeted Baghdad international airport. Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, announced an attacker had been apprehended.

Kuwait Airways, the country’s main carrier, said in a statement on Saturday that flights to Iraq were temporarily suspended based on instructions from the Kuwaiti Civil Aviation Authority due to “current conditions”.

Six rockets struck the Baghdad airport last week damaging two commercial planes belonging to Iraqi Airways, the main national airline. The incident marked an escalation in rocket and drone attacks often targeting the US and its allies, as well as Iraqi government institutions. The attacks have been blamed on Iran-backed militia groups.

An Iraqi soldier at a checkpoint in Baghdad on Friday following a rocket attack on the airport caused damage but no casualties, the latest in a string of attacks the US blames on Iran-linked militias. Photo: AFP

Iraqi authorities said in a statement late on Saturday they had apprehended a person allegedly behind the airport attack. The individual was arrested at a checkpoint near the northern province of Kirkuk en route to Arbil in the Kurdish-run semi-autonomous region. The statement provided no further details.

Following the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi urged the international community not to impose restrictions on travel to Iraq, while Iraqi Airways said the attack did not cause any disruptions and flights would continue.

03:56

Iran vows revenge if US fails to put former president Trump on trial for Soleimani killing

Separately, Iraq’s military said late on Saturday it had killed nine Islamic State group militants suspected of staging a deadly ambush in the northern province of Diyala. The gunmen stormed an army barracks while the soldiers slept inside and killed 11.

The militants were killed with three F-16 air strikes, with more operations planned to root out sleeper cells, Iraq’s military said.

Iraq is witnessing an uptick in IS-related attacks. Militants have long exploited the security vacuum across a band of disputed territory in northern Iraq.

Post