IRGC has claimed that a US surveillance aerostat, described as a tethered "spy balloon", was crippled during a missile and drone attack on Erbil Airport in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. According to the IRGC, the strike targeted the aerostat's ground-based control systems, maintenance facilities and fuel storage rather than the balloon itself. Tehran claims the attack may have disabled the surveillance platform, while Kurdish sources reportedly said the aerostat disappeared following the overnight strikes. The claims come after a major security incident in Erbil, where ten explosive drones were reportedly intercepted as blasts rocked the airport area. While the attack itself has been reported, Iranian claims of US fatalities and extensive destruction remain unverified. WATCH

Tensions in the West Asia have intensified after an Iran-backed Iraqi resistance group reportedly announced a $10 million bounty targeting US President Donald Trump, linking the threat to the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad. In a public statement, the group claimed the reward would go to any individual, group or entity that carried out the killing of Trump. The organisation accused the former US president of celebrating the deaths of Soleimani and al-Muhandis and vowed that those it describes as "oppressors" would never find peace. The Iraqi resistance group has also claimed responsibility for multiple attacks targeting US military installations in Iraq, while the US-led coalition has reported intercepting several drones over Erbil amid heightened security concerns. WATCH