Explosions heard near US base in Iraq after Pentagon finishes latest strikes against Iran

International Explosions heard near US base in Iraq after Pentagon finishes latest strikes against Iran Comments: by Finya Swai - 07/24/26 9:06 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Finya Swai - 07/24/26 9:06 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Explosive-laden drones targeted a military base in northern Iraq that hosts American forces on Friday, hours after the U.S. military launched its 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran.

Kurdish security officials said coalition forces shot down five drones over Erbil, Iraq — where troops were stationed at the Erbil International Airport.

A journalist for The Associated Press reported hearing at least seven explosions and seeing four plumes of black smoke near the city’s airport. Officials confirmed that “the incident caused no casualties or damage.”

The strikes came hours after the U.S. military, which has at least 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq, confirmed it completed another night of strikes against Iranian military sites it says were used to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

“This is the 13th consecutive night of strikes aimed to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping,” a Pentagon official announced Thursday.

Warning sirens were also heard in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry confirmed the sirens in a series of warnings posted to social platform X.

Bahrain’s military confirmed that it intercepted several attacks by Iran in a post on social media.

“The air defenses of the Bahrain Defense Force intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial aggressions,” the military said in a statement.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels also claimed responsibility for attacks against two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, prompting the U.S. military to take action amid escalating tensions over commercial and oil shipping routes.

President Trump on Thursday warned the Houthis would face “major military punishment” if attacks on commercial vessels continue. He also threatened to use frozen Iranian assets held by the U.S. to pay for damage to ships targeted during the conflict.

“Any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.