Kuwait suspends Iraq flights for a week after Baghdad airport attack

Kuwait suspends flights to Iraq for a week starting today, citing security fears after a rocket attack targeted Baghdad international airport.

Iraqi authorities, meanwhile, announce that an attacker has been apprehended.

Kuwait Airways, the country’s main carrier, says in a statement yesterday that flights to Iraq were temporarily suspended based on instructions from the Kuwaiti Civil Aviation Authority due to “current conditions.”

Six rockets struck the Baghdad airport last week damaging two commercial planes belonging to Iraqi Airways, the main national airline. The incident marked an escalation in rocket and drone attacks often targeting the US and its allies, as well as Iraqi government institutions. The attacks have been blamed on Iran-backed militia groups.

Iraqi authorities said late last night that they have apprehended a person allegedly behind the airport attack. The individual was arrested at a checkpoint near the northern province of Kirkuk en route to Irbil in the Kurdish-run semi-autonomous region. The statement provided no further details.