Buildings were completely destroyed after a rocket attack on the city in Iraq.
(Photo: Reuters)
Erbil Iran says it fired rockets at Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Twelve rockets fell there early on Sunday morning, as the Kurdish Interior Ministry said. They were aimed at the US consulate and hit a residential area.
Kurdish TV channel Rudaw reported that some rockets fell near the new consulate, which is currently under construction. Several buildings were damaged. According to the Interior Ministry, one person was slightly injured.
Iran claimed responsibility for the missile attack. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said a few hours after the shelling on Sunday that they had launched rocket attacks on an Israeli intelligence base in Erbil. The attack was in retaliation for alleged Israeli attacks in Syria about a week ago, in which two Iranian officers were killed. This attack was attributed to Israel.
Erbil Governor Umid Khushnau has said that allegations of an alleged Israeli intelligence base in northern Iraq are unfounded. “There are no Israeli bases in the area,” Khuschnau told broadcaster Rudaw. The missiles would have missed their targets. According to Khuschnau, two civilians were slightly injured.
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The IRGC warned Israel that a repeat of attacks like those in Syria on Iranian targets would meet “with even more consistent and destructive responses” from Iran. Israeli radio reported on Sunday that Israel also assumes an Iranian retaliatory attack. Concerned about further reactions from Iran, the Israeli army on the northern border is on increased alert, the broadcaster reported.
Iraqi militias allied with Iran have repeatedly fired missiles at targets used by the United States. Erbil has also been attacked before. But the rockets were always fired from Iraqi soil.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi said on Twitter that the shelling was an attack on the security of the Iraqi people. The President of the Kurdish autonomous regions, Masrur Barzani, spoke of a “terrorist attack”.
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