| Picture of a building destroyed by missile attacks on Erbil |
Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the US consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
On Sunday morning, Iraqi security officials announced that ballistic missiles had been fired at Erbil in northern Iraqi Kurdistan. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of the U.S. consulate and a nearby building, injuring two people and wounding two others, according to Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government officials.
A statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards Public Relations said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel's "recent crimes" which claimed to have targeted a "strategic center of the Zionist conspiracy."
It should be noted that two members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed in Israeli attacks in Syria last week, after which they announced retaliation. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a rally in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after which the Iranian government said it would retaliate.
Mossad training centers attacked
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| Missile attack on Erbil damages children's playroom |
The Revolutionary Guards have said they used "point missiles" in the attacks.
The Fars News Agency, which is considered to be a supporter of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been publishing information and speculation about these missile attacks from time to time through the Telegram channel.
Sabri News quoted a security source as saying that two state-of-the-art training centers owned by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad were targeted in Erbil. Media outlets close to the Revolutionary Guards, including the Tasnim News Agency, have repeated the same claim.
Kurdistan Region officials have denied the existence of any Israeli intelligence center in the region.
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| Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two US air bases in January 2020, following a US airstrike that killed Iran's top military commander, General Qasim Soleimani. |
The Islamic Republic of Iran's news agency, IRNA, also quoted Sabreen News, a media outlet close to the Shiite militia in Iraq, as saying that dozens of explosions had shaken the city of Erbil and that 14 rockets had hit US bases near Erbil airport. Have fallen on
The local television network (Kurdistan24), whose studios are located near the US Consulate, also aired videos on social media of the damage done to its offices after the attack.
Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr wrote on Twitter that "Erbil is on fire as if the Kurds are not Iraqis."
It is to be noted that after the death of Iran's top military commander General Qasim Soleimani in a US air strike in 2020, Iran had attacked two US air bases in January 2020 with more than a dozen ballistic missiles.
Where did the missiles come from?
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| Users on social media have posted several pictures of the blasts following the missile attack in Erbil. |
One of the images posted on social media shows that the missiles were fired from a location which, according to some experts, is close to Tabriz in northwestern Iran based on geographical location and details in the images.
Another photo posted on social media and news sources affiliated with the Iranian government said the missiles were seen passing over the territory of Iranian Kurdistan, which borders Iraqi Kurdistan.
An Iraqi security official told the Associated Press that the missiles had been fired by Iran.
A U.S. official told Reuters the missiles were fired from Iran. Another US official told ABC News that the missiles came from Iran.
Several rockets landed near US consulate
In an initial response to the blasts, Erbil Governor Omid Khushnaf said several rockets had landed near the consulate and it was not clear if the target was the city's airport or the US consulate.
It should be noted that there is also a US military base at Erbil Airport.
Iraqi Prime Minister Masroor Barzani has condemned the bombing in Erbil and said he stands firm in the face of these cowardly attacks.
After the attack, the Iraqi prime minister said it was an attack on the security of the Iraqi people. According to an Iraqi government official, Iraqi security forces are investigating the attack and will deal with any threat.
American condemnation and investigation
A State Department spokesman condemned the attack, saying there were no casualties in the attacks on US installations in Iraq.
A Pentagon statement said the attacks were being investigated.
Following the attack, several members of the US House of Representatives and Senate called on the Republican Party to suspend any talks on a nuclear deal with Iran in the wake of Sunday morning's attack on Erbil.
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