The last attack of this scale took place last September. This video, taken in a residential area of Erbil, shows the explosion from one of the 14 rockets fired last night.
As seen in the video, most of the rockets were neutralized before reaching a U.S. military base in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Still, a spokesman from the base confirms one civilian contractor was killed and nine others wounded.
A group sympathetic to Iran has claimed responsibility for the attack.
It comes at a sensitive time for Pope Francis, who is scheduled to visit the region from March 5th-8th. His security during his visit will be handled by Iraq’s counter terrorism and secret services.
The pope’s visit is unanimously supported in Iraq, and viewed with hope by the government as an opportunity to bring visibility to the country.
Before the attack, Shiite political leader Al Sadr released a statement welcoming the Pope to Iraq.
On his visit, Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, an influential spiritual leader of Iraq and Iran's majority Shia Muslim community.
JMB
