Ballistic missiles hit Iraq's Kurdish capital Erbil

[Anthea]

Ballistic missiles hit Iraq's Kurdish capital

A dozen ballistic missiles launched from outside Iraq struck the country's northern Kurdish regional capital Erbil on Sunday, Kurdish officials said, adding there were no casualties

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or further details available. A U.S. State Department spokesperson called it an "outrageous attack" but said no Americans were hurt and there was no damage to U.S. government facilities in Erbil.

Iraqi state TV quoted the Kurdistan region's counter-terrorism force as saying 12 missiles launched from outside Iraq hit Erbil. It was not immediately clear where they landed.

U.S. forces stationed at Erbil's international airport complex have in the past come under fire from rocket and drone attacks that U.S. officials blame on Iran-aligned militia groups, but no such attacks have occurred for several months.

The last time ballistic missiles were directed at U.S. forces was in January 2020 - an Iranian retaliation for the U.S. killing earlier that month of its military commander Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad airport.

No U.S. personnel were killed in the 2020 attack but many suffered head injuries.

Iraq and neighbouring Syria are regularly the scene of violence between the United States and Iran. Iran-backed Shi'ite Islamist militias have attacked U.S. forces in both countries and Washington has on occasion retaliated with air strikes.

An Israeli air strike in Syria on Monday killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Iranian state media said this week. The IRGC vowed to retaliate, it said.

Kurdish officials did not immediately say where the missiles struck. A spokesperson for the regional authorities said there were no flight interruptions at Erbil airport.

Residents of Erbil posted videos online showing several large explosions, and some said the blasts shook their homes. Reuters could not independently verify those videos.

Iraq has been rocked by chronic instability since the defeat of the Sunni Islamist group Islamic State in 2017 by a loose coalition of Iraqi, U.S.-led and Iran-backed forces.

Since then, Iran-aligned militias have regularly attacked U.S. military and diplomatic sites in Iraq, U.S. and many Iraqi officials say. Iran denies involvement in those attacks.

Domestic politics has also fuelled violence.

Iraqi political parties, most of which have armed wings, are currently in tense talks over forming a government after an election in October. Shi'ite militia groups close to Iran warn in private that they will resort to violence if they are left out of any ruling coalition.

The chief political foes of those groups include their powerful Shi'ite rival, the populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has vowed to form a government that leaves out Iran's allies and includes Kurds and Sunnis.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-ea ... 022-03-12/

[Anthea]

Erbil attack is just the beginning

Hours after a missile attack on Kurdistan Region’s capital city of Erbil, an Iranian official threatened that Iran would launch similar attacks in the future

On early Sunday morning ,a barrage of missiles fell on the city, causing extensive material damage to several buildings, including Kurdistan24’s main headquarters in Erbil.

"This was in Erbil last night," Seyed Mohammad Marandi, an advisor for the Iranian Committee for Nuclear Negotiations, commented on a video of the attack on Twitter.

"This is just the beginning," he added.

His comments followed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard claiming responsibility for the attack. Tehran alleged that the target site was an "Israeli base".

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/27 ... -beginning

[Anthea]

Iran missiles at civilian’s house

The US State Department told Rudaw on Sunday that a civilian residence was targeted by Iranian missiles earlier in the day, adding that there was no indication that the US consulate was the primary target

In a statement sent to Rudaw via email on Sunday, the state department reiterated that it did not consider that the US was the intended target of the missile attack from Iran, saying that “press speculation otherwise is simply wrong.”

Under the pretext of hitting an Israeli base, Iran fired a dozen ballistic missiles targeting areas surrounding the US consulate building in Erbil early Sunday morning, injuring two civilians and causing severe material damage to houses.

“The US was not the intended target,” the US State Department told Rudaw, adding “most if not all of the missiles were directed at a private Iraqi Kurdish citizen’s residential compound.”

At least four missiles landed on the residence of CEO and founder of the Iraqi-Kurdish oil company Kar Group Baz Karim Barzinji.

Karim manages many of the most important oil assets controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and is an influential actor in Iraq’s energy sector.

Hours after the missiles landed on the northeastern part of the city, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the Erbil attack which it said was launched in retaliation for the killing of two high-ranking IRGC officers by Israeli airstrikes in Syria last week.

The spokesperson wanted to clarify that this does not mean that the attack is not a matter of concern for the US, referring to the incident as “an outrageous attack by Iran on its neighbor.”

The Department of State reaffirmed that the US supports and is ready to work with their “Iraqi and Kurdish partners in the face of this terrible assault” in order to “hold Iran accountable.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan released a statement on Sunday condemning the Iranian missile attack on Erbil, stressing his support to the Kurdistan Region leadership and the Iraqi government in holding the perpetrators accountable.

“This attack targeted a civilian residence in Erbil…without any justification,” the statement read.

Sullivan also told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday that no US facilities were impacted in the attack, but that the US is working to provide Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with “missile defense capabilities to be able to defend themselves in their cities.”

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported an anonymous IRGC source saying “the main target of the IRGC missiles was the Zionist headquarters, which is far from the American military bases.

Israel and the Kurdistan Region enjoy friendly ties but do not have diplomatic missions in each other's countries.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate phone calls with both Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, and Kurdistan Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani on Sunday to discuss the recent missile attack on the Kurdish capital of Erbil. Blinken restated the US’ solidarity with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, agreeing with the leaders that the attack was an immense violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

Spoke with Iraqi Kurdistan Region PM @masrour_barzani yesterday to show support for the Kurdistan Region and condemn the recent Iranian attack that violated Iraq’s sovereignty. We discussed Kurdish unity and the need to form a government that protects Iraqis and their territory.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 14, 2022

Al-Kadhimi expressed his gratitude for the stance that the US has displayed towards the situation, reassuring Blinken that the government will not allow Iraq to become a proxy battlefield.

Barzani urged for more US support for the Kurdistan Region, while stressing the need for countering the “false narratives” that have been used to justify the attacks on Erbil in recent years.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/14032022