Explosives-laden drones strike near Iraq's Arbil

Three drones hit near Iraqi city of Arbil on Saturday. The city has a US consulate. As per a Iraqi Kurdish official, the drones were laden with explosives.

The attack came just before Hashed al-Shabbi, a pro-Iranian paramilitary alliance, held a military parade near Baghdad. The paramilitary alliance is opposed to US presence in Iraq.

The drone attack took place overnight. Anti-terrorist unit in Kurdistan said, two drones struck a house and caused damage. The payload on the third drone didn't explode.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The US consulate condemned the assault in a tweet, saying "this attack represents a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty".

US interests in Iraq have come under repeated attacks in recent months but the use of drones is a relatively new tactic.

The United States consistently blames Iran-linked Iraqi factions for rocket and other attacks against Iraqi installations housing its personnel.

Since the start of the year there have been 43 attacks against US interests in Iraq, where 2,500 American troops are deployed as part of an international coalition to fight the jihadist Islamic State group.

The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions that aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops.

In April, a drone packed with explosives hit the coalition's Iraq headquarters in the military part of the airport in Arbil, the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital.

The tactic poses a headache for the coalition, as drones can evade air defences.

In May a drone packed with explosives hit the Ain Al-Asad air base housing US troops.

On June 9 three explosives-laden drones targeted Baghdad airport, where US soldiers are also deployed. One was intercepted by the Iraqi army.

(With agency inputs)