Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan — The U.S. military presence in northern Iraq has come under one of its most intense assaults in years, as an Iran‑backed militia launched a coordinated drone swarm on American sites around Erbil, plunging the city into a night of explosions, sirens and fear.

Residents described the skyline lit by tracer fire as U.S. C‑RAM defenses roared to life, spitting streams of rounds at incoming drones streaking toward an airbase and diplomatic compound on the city’s outskirts. Several devices were seen diving through the defensive umbrella, followed by loud blasts and rising pillars of smoke. Windows shattered across nearby neighborhoods as debris and shrapnel rained down on streets and rooftops.

Local authorities report casualties among both U.S. personnel and Iraqi security forces, though exact numbers remain unclear. Hospitals in Erbil have declared an emergency, treating blast and shrapnel wounds as anxious families crowd waiting rooms. Checkpoints have sealed off access to American facilities, while Kurdish Peshmerga units deploy around key intersections amid talk of the city being “under siege from the sky.”

A coalition of Iran‑aligned groups styling itself the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” has claimed responsibility, calling the strike “punishment for American aggression against the Axis of Resistance.” Washington has condemned the attack as “a blatant act of Iranian‑backed terrorism,” vowing a response “at a time and place of our choosing.”

Analysts warn the Erbil assault sends a stark message: U.S. forces and their Kurdish hosts remain squarely in Tehran’s crosshairs — and the next wave of buzzing drones could turn a tense front line into a full‑blown battlefield.