Drone attack at Iraq airport aimed at U.S. troops, officials say

April 15 (UPI) -- A drone attack has targeted an airport in northern Iraq, and government officials believe the strike was aimed at U.S. forces who were using part of the facility.

The drone strike occurred Wednesday at Erbil International Airport in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Officials said the drone was loaded with explosives.

No casualties were reported.

The Kurdistan regional government said the strike appeared to have been directed at U.S.-led coalition troops, who were occupying part of the airport.

"A preliminary investigation ... has revealed an attack was carried out by a TNT drone, directed at coalition forces," Kurdistan's interior ministry said in a statement.

"There were, fortunately, no casualties and only material damage done to one of the buildings on the coalition base. The investigation is ongoing to determine the origin and location of the drone."

"Outraged by reports of attacks in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region," U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted. "The Iraqi people have suffered for far too long from this kind of violence and violation of their sovereignty."

"[Wednesday] night's events in the Kurdistan Region are another example of reckless attempts to inflame tensions and threaten Iraq's stability," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, chief of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, tweeted.

"We condemn these acts of violence and urge the Federal and Kurdistan governments to act swiftly and in unison to prevent further escalation."

Iraq military spokesman Yehia Rasool said Baghdad is investigating the drone strike.

"This type of terrorist act ... [which] takes place during the blessed month of Ramadan aims to destabilize security," Rasool tweeted.

Wednesday's attack came just weeks after nearly a dozen rockets were fired at the Ain al-Asad military base, located north of Baghdad, which also hosts U.S., Iraqi and coalition troops. A rocket attack in February also targeted the airport in Erbil.