2 airbases housing U.S.-led coalition forces attacked in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Two airbases housing the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and western Iraq were attacked by drones on Friday.

A statement by Kurdistan's regional Counter-Terrorism Service said a booby-trapped drone hit the Harir Airbase outside the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, at 10:25 a.m. local time (0725 GMT).

There have been no reports of casualties as the coalition forces already withdrew from the airbase on Oct. 20.

An armed group named "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" claimed in an online statement that its fighters launched a drone attack on the Harir Airbase. It said the drone hit its targets without providing further details.

In another online statement, the armed group said its fighters had launched two booby-trapped drones toward the Ayn al-Asad Airbase near the town of al-Baghdadi, some 190 km northwest of the capital Baghdad.

The group previously claimed to have launched rocket and drone attacks on military bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria following the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza Strip in October.