Warplanes and missiles seen in Iraq's airspace: witnesses, military source

Earlier Saturday, the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, with US President Donald Trump vowing to "annihilate" the country's navy and missile sites.

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2026-02-28 23:04:55

Warplanes and missiles were seen flying through Iraqi airspace as Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, witnesses and a military source told AFP.

Iraq had announced earlier it was closing its airspace. 

The military source said on condition of anonymity "our forces detected warplanes from the direction of Israel that crossed the airspace over Baghdad" and other provinces, adding that missiles were also seen flying over the northern province of Kirkuk.

"We saw several missiles flying at a low altitude" near the district of Daquq in Kirkuk, two witnesses said. A soldier in the city of Ramadi in western Iraq told AFP he saw warplanes flying overhead.

Resident Saman Zelwan, 20, told AFP he saw "more than 10 missiles flying over the Dokan district towards the Iranian border" in Sulaimaniyah province in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Earlier Saturday, the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, with US President Donald Trump vowing to "annihilate" the country's navy and missile sites.

© Agence France-Presse