BAGHDAD, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Four booby-trapped drones were shot down on Monday over a U.S. military base at the Erbil International Airport in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and the nearby U.S. consulate, according to a Kurdish security source.

Three drones were shot down by the U.S. defense system in the morning over the airport area and the U.S. consulate without causing casualties, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A fourth drone was downed in a separate engagement over the airport at dawn, without casualties, the source added.

Separately, a pro-Iran group calling itself the "Guardians of Blood," affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for Iraqi Shiite militias, claimed responsibility for launching drone attacks targeting the Victoria military base at Baghdad International Airport, which houses U.S. soldiers.

In a statement, the group, which had announced several attacks against U.S. bases earlier, described the strike as retaliation for the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and in support of Iran.

The attack came amid heightened tensions following the joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran on Saturday, to which Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East. ■