Two key border crossings connected to Iraq faced attacks on Thursday amid heightened hostilities in the Middle East, with officials and verified social media footage indicating strikes on facilities near the Iranian and Kuwaiti frontiers. The perpetrators and full extent of the damage remain under investigation.
The Shalamcheh border crossing, situated near the Iranian province of Khuzestan, was reportedly targeted by U.S. airstrikes in the early morning hours. Iranian and Iraqi media cited reports of a police rest station being struck. While U.S. Central Command, which oversees regional operations, has not yet responded to inquiries about this specific incident, videos verified by The New York Times depict explosions and civilians fleeing the area. Iranian officials confirmed that two individuals were killed in the attack.
Additional verified footage from the Shalamcheh crossing shows damage to a telecommunications tower within the facility. This incident occurred shortly before U.S. Central Command issued a statement detailing the completion of its twelfth consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military sites, though the statement did not mention an attack on a border crossing.
Later on Thursday afternoon, the Abdali border crossing, which serves as a link between Kuwait and Iraq, was also targeted. A spokesman for Kuwait's defense ministry stated that the crossing came "under attack by hostile drones," though the origin was not specified and no casualties were reported. This incident follows a pattern of Iran launching missile and drone attacks against neighboring countries, including Kuwait, since late February, which Iran has stated are directed at U.S. military installations.
Kuwaiti defense officials further reported that the Abdali crossing experienced "repeated" attacks on Thursday evening, but again, no injuries were sustained. Verified videos show smoke rising from the Kuwaiti side of the border crossing, near a radio tower, with other footage from the Iraqi side displaying parked vehicles and individuals observing smoke emanating from the affected area.
Neither Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps nor U.S. Central Command has issued comments regarding the attack on the Abdali crossing. The Iraqi government has also not yet provided a statement on either of the border crossing incidents.
