An attack Wednesday on an airport in Erbil was carried out by drone, the Kurdistan interior ministry said, in an unprecedented escalation of the arms used to target US soldiers based there.

"A drone charged with TNT targeted a coalition base at Erbil's airport," the ministry said, adding that no one was hurt in the blast but a building was damaged.

A Turkish soldier was killed by rocket fire at around the same time at a military base 50 kilometers east in Bashiqa, Ankara said, but there was no immediate confirmation of any link between the two attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the airport drone attack, which caused an explosion heard across Erbil.