Jan 30, 2022: Kuwait has suspended flights to Iraq for a week, starting Sunday, citing security concerns following a rocket attack on Baghdad’s international airport.

Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities have announced the capture of an attacker. The country’s main airline, Kuwait Airways, said in a statement on Saturday that flights to Iraq had been temporarily suspended due to “current circumstances” following instructions from the Kuwaiti Civil Aviation Authority.

Earlier, on Friday, 6 rockets were fired at the Iraqi capital’s airport, causing damage to one runway and two civilian planes but no casualties. It was the latest in a string of attacks the United States blamed on Iran-linked armed groups.

Iran condemned “the targeting of Baghdad airport” in an attack it said aimed to “destabilise” Iraq.

The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, near the northern city of Kirkuk. In the aftermath of the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhmi urged the international community not to impose travel restrictions on Iraq, while Iraqi Airways said there were no disruptions to the attack and flights would continue.

The Iraqi army said late Saturday that it had killed nine ISIS fighters suspected of carrying out a deadly ambush in the northern province of Diyala. Gunmen stormed a military barracks just before dawn as soldiers slept inside, killing 11. The Iraqi military says militants have been killed in three F-16 airstrikes, with more planned operations to uproot sleeper cells.

IS-linked attacks are on the rise in Iraq. Fighters have long taken advantage of a security vacuum in a disputed area in northern Iraq.

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