Iran describes allegations of links to Hewler airport attack as "suspicious", strongly refutes

"Iran considers the stability and security of Iraq a critical issue for the region... and rejects any action that undermines security and peace in that country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told official media.

He condemned what he described as "suspicious attempts to attribute (the attack) to Iran."

A group calling itself the "Saraya Awliya al-Dam" had claimed responsibility for the attack on the base, saying that it had targeted the "American occupation" in Iraq, while it had not provided any evidence for its claim.

At dawn on Tuesday, the security of Başûr Kurdistan found the trucks that were used in launching the rockets, in addition to four Katyusha rockets that were designed to be fired towards the airport.

Security officials stated that initial investigations showed that the remnants of the projectiles that landed in some areas were mortar missiles.

On Monday, six Katyusha rockets landed near Hewler airport, an attack that the Counter-Terrorism Service in Başur Kurdistan blamed on pro-Iranian groups.

The spokesman for the International Coalition, Colonel Wayne Maruto, announced that the targeting the Coalition forces in Hewler with indirect fire resulted in the killing of one civilian contractor and the wounding of six others, including an American soldier.

J.O