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| Iraq |
| Explosions rock American military base in Iraq hours after US ended 13th night of strikes on Iran |
| 2026-07-25 |
| [DM] A series of explosions broke out near a military base hosting US forces in northern Iraq, hours after the US military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran. A journalist with the Associated Press heard at least seven blasts around 9.30am local time in the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and observed at least four plumes of black smoke rising into the sky from areas near or inside the base. The US and Iran have exchanged escalating strikes in fighting that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the US bombardment. US Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to 'further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters' as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5am local time Friday. Bahrain activated its sirens twice later that morning, warning residents to shelter from detected incoming fire. Gulf states have also come under frequent fire over the past week. The previous day, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties to both the US and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |