Pictures provided by Kurdish media network Rudaw TV show the aftermath near a site where missiles hit. Image: RUDAW TV
Attacks on Iraq, the US Condemns Iran.
Iran’s missile attacks near the northern Iraqi city of Irbil have drawn criticism from the US, which described them as “a reckless and imprecise set of strikes”.
The Revolutionary Guards of Iran claimed to have used ballistic missiles to destroy what they believed to be an Israeli “spy headquarters” in northern Iraq.
The incident on Monday left four people dead and six wounded, according to the Kurdistan Security Council of Iraq.
Declaring the strikes to be an affront to its sovereignty, Iraq condemned them.
The strikes coincide with escalating regional tensions following the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7.
The violence has begun to spread, with Iranian-allied militias already active in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.
According to preliminary indications, this was a careless and imprecise set of strikes, but we will continue to examine the situation,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
She declared, “The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq,” stressing that neither US people nor US infrastructure were attacked.
Previously, the Revolutionary Guards of Iran declared that “ballistic missiles destroyed one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.” It was “in response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime,” according to a statement.
Iran has attacked Kurdistan in Iraq in the past, saying the territory is utilised by Israeli spies and Iranian separatist organisations.
Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani denounced the attack on Irbil as a “crime against the Kurdish people” in a statement released from his office.
According to the Kurdistan Democratic Party, prominent businessman Peshraw Dizayee was one of the four civilians slain.
The positions of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria were reportedly hit by the Revolutionary Guards as well.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported that “at least four missiles that came from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea” fell in Aleppo and its area, where explosions were heard.
The force said that it was in reprisal for the suicide attack that occurred this month on gatherings commemorating the anniversary of the US assassination of Iranian spymaster Qasem Soleimani.
At least 84 people were murdered and numerous others were injured in an attack in Kerman, southern Iran.