Iran says missile attack on Iraq's
Arbil, Iraq / © AFP
Speaking before Iran claimed the attack, he dismissed however as "baseless allegations" the presence of Israeli sites in and around Arbil.
"We've been hearing for sometime that Israeli sites are present. These are baseless allegations. There are no Israeli sites in the region," Khouchnaw said.
He said the missiles fell into vacant lots but that buildings and homes were damaged.
The interior ministry in Arbil said a "new building" housing the US consulate in a residential suburb of the city was the target of the attack.
Washington, a foe of Iran with troops on the ground in Iraq, said there was "no damage or casualties at any US government facility".
"We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence," a State Department spokesperson said.
Taxi driver Ziryan Wazir said he was in his car when the missiles struck.
"I saw a lot of dust, then I heard a very loud noise. The windows of my car exploded and I was injured in the face," he said, his head swathed in white gauze and a bloodied scar running the length of his cheek.
Local television channel Kurdistan24, located near the US consulate, posted images on social networks of its damaged offices, with collapsed sections of false ceiling and broken glass.
An AFP correspondent in Arbil said he heard three explosions before dawn.
- Regional tensions -
Iraqi taxi driver Ziryan Wazir said the windows of his car exploded and he was injured in the face / © AFP
Iraq, including the Kurdistan region, is home to a dwindling number of US troops who led a coalition fighting the Islamic State jihadist group.
Washington has routinely blamed rocket and drone attacks against its interests in Iraq on pro-Iran groups who demand the departure of the remaining troops.
But cross-border missile fire is rare.
Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, decried the "terrorist attack" in Arbil, and appealed for calm.
Iraq saw a surge in rocket and armed-drone attacks at the beginning of the year.
It coincided with the second anniversary of the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone srike near Baghdad airport.
Soleimani, killed alongside his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, headed the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm.
In late January, six rockets were fired at Baghdad International Airport, causing no casualties.
Iran itself responded to the January 2020 killing of Soleimani by firing missiles at military bases in Iraq housing US forces.
Sunday's assault also comes amid a pause in negotiations between Iran and world powers to revive its 2015 nuclear deal.
Negotiators in Vienna said Friday they halted the talks despite having almost sealed a deal to revive that accord.
The setback came after Russia said it was demanding guarantees that the Western sanctions imposed on its own economy amid the conflict in Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.
burs-tgg/hkb/dwo
Abril (Ebril) targeted Israeli site
Author: AFP|Update: 13.03.2022
Twelve ballistic missiles were fired on the northern Iraqi city of Arbil (Erbil)causing material damage and wounding two civilians. Iran claimed responsibility for the assault saying it targeted a 'strategic' Israeli facility / © AFP
Iran claimed responsibility for a missile strike Sunday on the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, saying it targeted an Israeli "strategic centre".
Authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region had earlier said 12 ballistic missiles rained down on Arbil in a pre-dawn attack targeting US interests that slightly wounded two civilians and caused material damage.
The missiles came from beyond Iraq's eastern border, Kurdistan's counter-terrorism unit announced -- in effect saying they were fired from Iran, a nation which wields considerable political and economic influence over Baghdad.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards later confirmed they fired the projectiles, claiming they were targeting sites used by Israel, a top ally of the US.
A "strategic centre for conspiracy and mischiefs of the Zionists was targeted by powerful precision missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps", the Guards said in a statement.
Sunday's assault comes nearly a week after the Guards -- Iran's ideological army -- vowed to avenge the death of two of their officers killed in a rocket attack in Syria they blamed on Israel. Iran backs the government in Syria's civil war.
Israel, the Guards said at the time, "will pay for this crime".
There was no immediate reaction from Israel to Sunday's missile attack and Kurdish authorities insisted that the Jewish state has no sites in or anywhere near Arbil.
The pre-dawn strike caused damage at the studio of local television channel Kurdistan24 / © AFP
Kurdish authorities said the target of the attack was the Arbil consulate of the United States.
- 'Baseless allegations' -
Arbil governor Oumid Khouchnaw told a news conference that two people, a taxi driver and a the custodian of a farm, were injured.
Twelve ballistic missiles were fired on the northern Iraqi city of Arbil (Erbil)causing material damage and wounding two civilians. Iran claimed responsibility for the assault saying it targeted a 'strategic' Israeli facility / © AFP
Iran claimed responsibility for a missile strike Sunday on the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, saying it targeted an Israeli "strategic centre".
Authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region had earlier said 12 ballistic missiles rained down on Arbil in a pre-dawn attack targeting US interests that slightly wounded two civilians and caused material damage.
The missiles came from beyond Iraq's eastern border, Kurdistan's counter-terrorism unit announced -- in effect saying they were fired from Iran, a nation which wields considerable political and economic influence over Baghdad.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards later confirmed they fired the projectiles, claiming they were targeting sites used by Israel, a top ally of the US.
A "strategic centre for conspiracy and mischiefs of the Zionists was targeted by powerful precision missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps", the Guards said in a statement.
Sunday's assault comes nearly a week after the Guards -- Iran's ideological army -- vowed to avenge the death of two of their officers killed in a rocket attack in Syria they blamed on Israel. Iran backs the government in Syria's civil war.
Israel, the Guards said at the time, "will pay for this crime".
There was no immediate reaction from Israel to Sunday's missile attack and Kurdish authorities insisted that the Jewish state has no sites in or anywhere near Arbil.
The pre-dawn strike caused damage at the studio of local television channel Kurdistan24 / © AFP
Kurdish authorities said the target of the attack was the Arbil consulate of the United States.
- 'Baseless allegations' -
Arbil governor Oumid Khouchnaw told a news conference that two people, a taxi driver and a the custodian of a farm, were injured.
Arbil, Iraq / © AFP
Speaking before Iran claimed the attack, he dismissed however as "baseless allegations" the presence of Israeli sites in and around Arbil.
"We've been hearing for sometime that Israeli sites are present. These are baseless allegations. There are no Israeli sites in the region," Khouchnaw said.
He said the missiles fell into vacant lots but that buildings and homes were damaged.
The interior ministry in Arbil said a "new building" housing the US consulate in a residential suburb of the city was the target of the attack.
Washington, a foe of Iran with troops on the ground in Iraq, said there was "no damage or casualties at any US government facility".
"We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence," a State Department spokesperson said.
Taxi driver Ziryan Wazir said he was in his car when the missiles struck.
"I saw a lot of dust, then I heard a very loud noise. The windows of my car exploded and I was injured in the face," he said, his head swathed in white gauze and a bloodied scar running the length of his cheek.
Local television channel Kurdistan24, located near the US consulate, posted images on social networks of its damaged offices, with collapsed sections of false ceiling and broken glass.
An AFP correspondent in Arbil said he heard three explosions before dawn.
- Regional tensions -
Iraqi taxi driver Ziryan Wazir said the windows of his car exploded and he was injured in the face / © AFP
Iraq, including the Kurdistan region, is home to a dwindling number of US troops who led a coalition fighting the Islamic State jihadist group.
Washington has routinely blamed rocket and drone attacks against its interests in Iraq on pro-Iran groups who demand the departure of the remaining troops.
But cross-border missile fire is rare.
Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, decried the "terrorist attack" in Arbil, and appealed for calm.
Iraq saw a surge in rocket and armed-drone attacks at the beginning of the year.
It coincided with the second anniversary of the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone srike near Baghdad airport.
Soleimani, killed alongside his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, headed the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards' foreign operations arm.
In late January, six rockets were fired at Baghdad International Airport, causing no casualties.
Iran itself responded to the January 2020 killing of Soleimani by firing missiles at military bases in Iraq housing US forces.
Sunday's assault also comes amid a pause in negotiations between Iran and world powers to revive its 2015 nuclear deal.
Negotiators in Vienna said Friday they halted the talks despite having almost sealed a deal to revive that accord.
The setback came after Russia said it was demanding guarantees that the Western sanctions imposed on its own economy amid the conflict in Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran.
burs-tgg/hkb/dwo
ITS NOT ALL ABOUT USA
US blames Iran for attack near its compound in Irbil, Tehran denies involvement
By AP with Euronews • Updated: 13/03/2022 -
The launch of the Fateh-110 short-range surface-to-surface missile by Iranian armed forces, at an undisclosed location in August 2010 - Copyright AP Photo
As many as 12 missiles struck near a sprawling US consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, in what the US and Iraqi officials said was a strike launched from neighbouring Iran.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the US and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
An Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the US consulate in Irbil and that it was the target of the attack.
Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan's foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the US facility but that areas around the compound had been hit.
The US defence official said it was still uncertain exactly how many missiles were fired and where they landed. A second official said there was no damage at any US government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Iran rejects accusations for attack
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for an Israeli strike near Damascus that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard.
On Sunday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without saying where they originated.
An Iranian spokesperson rejected the accusation that Iran was behind the Irbil attack. Mahmoud Abbaszadeh, Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy spokesman, said the allegation could not be confirmed so far.
"If Iran decides to take revenge […] it will be very, very serious, strong, obvious," he said in an interview with a local news website.
The missile barrage coincided with regional tensions. Negotiations in Vienna over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal hit a "pause" over Russian demands about sanctions targeting Moscow for its war on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Iran suspended its secret Baghdad-brokered talks to defuse yearslong tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia after it carried out the largest known mass execution in its modern history with over three dozen Shiites killed.
The Iraqi security officials said there were no casualties from the Irbil attack, which occurred after midnight and caused material damage in the area. They spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
One Iraqi official said the ballistic missiles were fired from Iran without elaborating. He said the projectiles were the Iranian-made Fateh-110, likely fired in retaliation for the two Revolutionary Guards killed in Syria.
US presence in Iraq aggravates Tehran
US forces stationed at Irbil's airport compound have come under fire from rocket and drone attacks in the past.
Tensions spiked after a January 2020 US drone strike near the Baghdad airport killed a top Iranian general.
In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at the al-Asad airbase, where US troops were stationed. More than 100 service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in the blasts.
More recently, Iranian proxies are believed responsible for an assassination attempt late last year on Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
And officials have said they believe Iran was behind the October drone attack at the military outpost in southern Syria where American troops are based. No US personnel were killed or injured in the attack.
Al-Kadhimi tweeted: "The aggression which targeted the dear city of Irbil and spread fear amongst its inhabitants is an attack on the security of our people."
Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish-controlled region, condemned the attack. In a Facebook post, he said Irbil "will not bow to the cowards who carried out the terrorist attack."
US blames Iran for attack near its compound in Irbil, Tehran denies involvement
By AP with Euronews • Updated: 13/03/2022 -
The launch of the Fateh-110 short-range surface-to-surface missile by Iranian armed forces, at an undisclosed location in August 2010 - Copyright AP Photo
As many as 12 missiles struck near a sprawling US consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, in what the US and Iraqi officials said was a strike launched from neighbouring Iran.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the US and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
An Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the US consulate in Irbil and that it was the target of the attack.
Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan's foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the US facility but that areas around the compound had been hit.
The US defence official said it was still uncertain exactly how many missiles were fired and where they landed. A second official said there was no damage at any US government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Iran rejects accusations for attack
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for an Israeli strike near Damascus that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard.
On Sunday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without saying where they originated.
An Iranian spokesperson rejected the accusation that Iran was behind the Irbil attack. Mahmoud Abbaszadeh, Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy spokesman, said the allegation could not be confirmed so far.
"If Iran decides to take revenge […] it will be very, very serious, strong, obvious," he said in an interview with a local news website.
The missile barrage coincided with regional tensions. Negotiations in Vienna over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal hit a "pause" over Russian demands about sanctions targeting Moscow for its war on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Iran suspended its secret Baghdad-brokered talks to defuse yearslong tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia after it carried out the largest known mass execution in its modern history with over three dozen Shiites killed.
The Iraqi security officials said there were no casualties from the Irbil attack, which occurred after midnight and caused material damage in the area. They spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
One Iraqi official said the ballistic missiles were fired from Iran without elaborating. He said the projectiles were the Iranian-made Fateh-110, likely fired in retaliation for the two Revolutionary Guards killed in Syria.
US presence in Iraq aggravates Tehran
US forces stationed at Irbil's airport compound have come under fire from rocket and drone attacks in the past.
Tensions spiked after a January 2020 US drone strike near the Baghdad airport killed a top Iranian general.
In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles at the al-Asad airbase, where US troops were stationed. More than 100 service members suffered traumatic brain injuries in the blasts.
More recently, Iranian proxies are believed responsible for an assassination attempt late last year on Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
And officials have said they believe Iran was behind the October drone attack at the military outpost in southern Syria where American troops are based. No US personnel were killed or injured in the attack.
Al-Kadhimi tweeted: "The aggression which targeted the dear city of Irbil and spread fear amongst its inhabitants is an attack on the security of our people."
Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdish-controlled region, condemned the attack. In a Facebook post, he said Irbil "will not bow to the cowards who carried out the terrorist attack."
US officials: Missile attack on Erbil came from Iran
It is not entirely clear what triggered Sunday’s attack, but it seems part of a broader hardening of Iran’s posture toward the US
A man cleans debris in the damaged studios of the Kurdistan 24 TV building after a dozen ballistic missiles fell nearby in Kurdistan Region Erbil, March 13, 2022. (Photo: Safin Hamed/AFP)
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24)–“A missile strike early Sunday that landed in the vicinity of a new American consulate under construction in northern Iraq originated from Iran, according to US officials,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The missiles fell in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region, east of the new US consulate there.
“There is no damage or casualties at any US Government facility,” a State Department Spokesperson told Kurdistan 24, adding, “We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence.”
The attack, which occurred at 1:20 AM local time, involved a dozen ballistic missiles and did cause damage to the headquarters of Kurdistan 24, however.
Background and Context of Missile Attack
The assault marked the first time since Jan. 8, 2020, that Iran has fired missiles from its own territory into Iraq. Then, the target was Iraq’s Ayn al-Asad Air Base in the west of the al-Anbar province, where US forces are based.
That attack was retaliation for the US assassination of Qasim Soleimani five days before, the head of the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It is not entirely clear what triggered Sunday’s attack, but it seems part of a broader hardening of Iran’s posture toward the US.
Notably, Tehran’s position on the revival of the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord stiffened significantly last Thursday.
At that time, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pronounced, ”It's a big error to bow to the pressure from America or other powers to secure protection against sanctions, which will deal a blow to the nation's political power.”
Russia has also imposed new conditions on reviving the deal, and the result has been the temporary suspension of the talks, even as the negotiators believed that they were on the verge of reaching a new agreement.
Quite possibly, Sunday’s missile strike is related to the crisis in Ukraine and the confrontation between Russia, on the one hand, and the US, Europe, and much of the rest of the world, on the other.
Russia needs all the political support it can muster. The Kurds, in both the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and in northeast Syria, are aligned with the US. Their adversaries are aligned with Russia.
Present circumstances give Russia’s allies, like Iran, enhanced leverage with Moscow. In fact, Moscow may well welcome the pressure that its allies can put on America’s allies.
In late January, while Russian forces stood mobilized on Ukraine’s borders, there was another unprecedented assault on the Kurds: an attack on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria.
With Moscow’s backing, Syria, it seems, supported ISIS in an assault on a prison in Hasakah. ISIS’s initial success took the SDF and the US-led Coalition by surprise. They had not thought the terrorist group possessed such capabilities.
Ten days of hard fighting followed, as the SDF slowly regained control of the prison. ISIS aimed to liberate its fighters held in jail. Damascus, it seems, sought to pressure the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria to enter into negotiations with it.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, Illinois), who served in the US Air Force in Afghanistan and Iraq and sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, retweeted a video of a missile purportedly being fired from Khasabad military base in Iran’s Azerbaijan province.
Kinzinger presumably had good reason to believe the video is authentic. In any event, US and UK media do cite the claim of US officials that the missile strike was launched from Iranian territory.
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24)–“A missile strike early Sunday that landed in the vicinity of a new American consulate under construction in northern Iraq originated from Iran, according to US officials,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
The missiles fell in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region, east of the new US consulate there.
“There is no damage or casualties at any US Government facility,” a State Department Spokesperson told Kurdistan 24, adding, “We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence.”
The attack, which occurred at 1:20 AM local time, involved a dozen ballistic missiles and did cause damage to the headquarters of Kurdistan 24, however.
Background and Context of Missile Attack
The assault marked the first time since Jan. 8, 2020, that Iran has fired missiles from its own territory into Iraq. Then, the target was Iraq’s Ayn al-Asad Air Base in the west of the al-Anbar province, where US forces are based.
That attack was retaliation for the US assassination of Qasim Soleimani five days before, the head of the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It is not entirely clear what triggered Sunday’s attack, but it seems part of a broader hardening of Iran’s posture toward the US.
Notably, Tehran’s position on the revival of the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord stiffened significantly last Thursday.
At that time, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pronounced, ”It's a big error to bow to the pressure from America or other powers to secure protection against sanctions, which will deal a blow to the nation's political power.”
Russia has also imposed new conditions on reviving the deal, and the result has been the temporary suspension of the talks, even as the negotiators believed that they were on the verge of reaching a new agreement.
Quite possibly, Sunday’s missile strike is related to the crisis in Ukraine and the confrontation between Russia, on the one hand, and the US, Europe, and much of the rest of the world, on the other.
Russia needs all the political support it can muster. The Kurds, in both the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and in northeast Syria, are aligned with the US. Their adversaries are aligned with Russia.
Present circumstances give Russia’s allies, like Iran, enhanced leverage with Moscow. In fact, Moscow may well welcome the pressure that its allies can put on America’s allies.
In late January, while Russian forces stood mobilized on Ukraine’s borders, there was another unprecedented assault on the Kurds: an attack on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria.
With Moscow’s backing, Syria, it seems, supported ISIS in an assault on a prison in Hasakah. ISIS’s initial success took the SDF and the US-led Coalition by surprise. They had not thought the terrorist group possessed such capabilities.
Ten days of hard fighting followed, as the SDF slowly regained control of the prison. ISIS aimed to liberate its fighters held in jail. Damascus, it seems, sought to pressure the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria to enter into negotiations with it.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, Illinois), who served in the US Air Force in Afghanistan and Iraq and sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, retweeted a video of a missile purportedly being fired from Khasabad military base in Iran’s Azerbaijan province.
Kinzinger presumably had good reason to believe the video is authentic. In any event, US and UK media do cite the claim of US officials that the missile strike was launched from Iranian territory.
KRG Council of Ministers calls on international community to investigate ‘baseless attacks’
“Iran has repeated these attacks many times, and the silence of the international community in the face of these cowardly attacks will pave the way for their continuation.”
Kurdistan region’s Council of Ministers during their session. (Photo: KRG)
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) called on the international community to investigate ‘baseless attacks’ on Erbil in a statement on Sunday.
“The cowardly attack on Erbil on March 13, 2022, allegedly under the pretext of hitting an Israeli base near the US Consulate in Erbil, targeted civilian locations and its justification is only to hide the disgracefulness of such offense.”
“We reiterate that the propaganda of the perpetrators of this attack is far from true,” the statement from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region said, after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that they hit ‘Zionist’ targets.
“Iran has repeated these attacks many times, and the silence of the international community in the face of these cowardly attacks will pave the way for their continuation.”
“We call on the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, the Arab League, the federal government, the Iraqi parliament, and the Iranian government to urgently investigate these baseless attacks, visit targeted locations, reveal the facts to the public, and take a true and strong stance on these attacks.”
The Kurdish security forces announced that the missiles were fired from beyond the eastern frontiers of Iraq, without specifying any country.
Some light injuries were sustained by civilians close to the impact sites, according to public health authorities.
The Kurdistan24’s main Headquarters building in Erbil was impacted by the shockwaves of the missiles, causing structural damage.
Several foreign diplomatic missions in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region condemned Saturday night’s missile attacks on Erbil.
Top Kurdish and Iraqi leaders have also condemned the attack.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) called on the international community to investigate ‘baseless attacks’ on Erbil in a statement on Sunday.
“The cowardly attack on Erbil on March 13, 2022, allegedly under the pretext of hitting an Israeli base near the US Consulate in Erbil, targeted civilian locations and its justification is only to hide the disgracefulness of such offense.”
“We reiterate that the propaganda of the perpetrators of this attack is far from true,” the statement from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region said, after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that they hit ‘Zionist’ targets.
“Iran has repeated these attacks many times, and the silence of the international community in the face of these cowardly attacks will pave the way for their continuation.”
“We call on the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, the Arab League, the federal government, the Iraqi parliament, and the Iranian government to urgently investigate these baseless attacks, visit targeted locations, reveal the facts to the public, and take a true and strong stance on these attacks.”
The Kurdish security forces announced that the missiles were fired from beyond the eastern frontiers of Iraq, without specifying any country.
Some light injuries were sustained by civilians close to the impact sites, according to public health authorities.
The Kurdistan24’s main Headquarters building in Erbil was impacted by the shockwaves of the missiles, causing structural damage.
Several foreign diplomatic missions in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region condemned Saturday night’s missile attacks on Erbil.
Top Kurdish and Iraqi leaders have also condemned the attack.
Read More: Diplomatic missions condemn missile attacks on Erbil
“We strongly condemn last night’s cowardly attack on Erbil,” President Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), wrote in a statement on Sunday, describing the attack as “a crime against humanity.”
“We strongly condemn last night’s cowardly attack on Erbil,” President Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), wrote in a statement on Sunday, describing the attack as “a crime against humanity.”
Erbil will stand firmly against ‘neo-Hulagus’, President Masoud Barzani says following missile attacks
Kurdistan
ERBIL ( Kurdistan 24) – President Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil would stand firmly against the “new Hulagus,” after a dozen ballistic missiles struck the Kurdish city on Saturday night.
Hulagu Khan was a Mongol ruler who led an assault on Baghdad, leading to the demise of the Islamic civilization of the Abbasid Caliphate.
A barrage of missiles fell on the city, causing extensive material damages to several buildings, including Kurdistan24’s main headquarters in Erbil.
“We strongly condemn last night’s cowardly attack on Erbil,” President Masoud Barzani wrote in a statement, describing the attack as “a crime against humanity.”
The Kurdish security forces announced that the missiles were fired from beyond the eastern frontiers of Iraq, without specifying any country.
Some light injuries were sustained by civilians close to the impact sites, according to public health authorities.
Barzani indicated Erbil would stand just as firmly against contemporary “neo-Hulagus” as it did in the past, referring to the historical defeat of the Mongol ruler in 1250 at the city’s citadel.
Diplomatic missions based in the Kurdish Region, as well as top Iraqi officials, have strongly condemned the attacks
“We strongly condemn last night’s cowardly attack on Erbil,” President Masoud Barzani wrote in a statement, describing the attack as “a crime against humanity.”
President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani.
(Photo: KDP)
Kurdistan
ERBIL ( Kurdistan 24) – President Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil would stand firmly against the “new Hulagus,” after a dozen ballistic missiles struck the Kurdish city on Saturday night.
Hulagu Khan was a Mongol ruler who led an assault on Baghdad, leading to the demise of the Islamic civilization of the Abbasid Caliphate.
A barrage of missiles fell on the city, causing extensive material damages to several buildings, including Kurdistan24’s main headquarters in Erbil.
“We strongly condemn last night’s cowardly attack on Erbil,” President Masoud Barzani wrote in a statement, describing the attack as “a crime against humanity.”
The Kurdish security forces announced that the missiles were fired from beyond the eastern frontiers of Iraq, without specifying any country.
Some light injuries were sustained by civilians close to the impact sites, according to public health authorities.
Barzani indicated Erbil would stand just as firmly against contemporary “neo-Hulagus” as it did in the past, referring to the historical defeat of the Mongol ruler in 1250 at the city’s citadel.
Diplomatic missions based in the Kurdish Region, as well as top Iraqi officials, have strongly condemned the attacks
Missiles Fired from Iran Hit near US Consulate in Iraq
| March 13, 2022, Sunday
As many as 12 missiles struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, in what a U.S. defense official and an Iraqi official said was a strike launched from neighboring Iran.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
The Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the U.S. consulate in Irbil and that it was the target of the attack. Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan’s foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the U.S. facility but that areas around the compound had been hit.
The U.S. defense official said it was still uncertain exactly how many missiles were fired and exactly where they landed. A second U.S. official said there was no damage at any U.S. government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied.
Neither the Iraqi official nor the U.S. officials were authorized to discuss the event with the media and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Satellite broadcast channel Kurdistan24, which is located near the U.S. consulate, went on air from their studio shortly after the attack, showing shattered glass and debris on their studio floor.
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for an Israeli strike near Damascus, Syria, that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard. On Sunday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without saying where they originated.
An Iranian spokesperson rejected the accusation that Iran was behind the Irbil attack. Mahmoud Abbaszadeh, spokesman for Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said the allegation could not be confirmed so far.
“If Iran decides to take revenge … it will be very, very serious, strong, obvious,” he said in an interview with a local news website.
Bloomberg
| March 13, 2022, Sunday
As many as 12 missiles struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, in what a U.S. defense official and an Iraqi official said was a strike launched from neighboring Iran.
No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.
The U.S. defense official said it was still uncertain exactly how many missiles were fired and exactly where they landed. A second U.S. official said there was no damage at any U.S. government facility and that there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied.
Neither the Iraqi official nor the U.S. officials were authorized to discuss the event with the media and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Satellite broadcast channel Kurdistan24, which is located near the U.S. consulate, went on air from their studio shortly after the attack, showing shattered glass and debris on their studio floor.
The attack came several days after Iran said it would retaliate for an Israeli strike near Damascus, Syria, that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard. On Sunday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without saying where they originated.
An Iranian spokesperson rejected the accusation that Iran was behind the Irbil attack. Mahmoud Abbaszadeh, spokesman for Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said the allegation could not be confirmed so far.
“If Iran decides to take revenge … it will be very, very serious, strong, obvious,” he said in an interview with a local news website.
Bloomberg
Ballistic missiles fired from Iran strike near US forces in Iraq: report
Bob Brigham
March 12, 2022
Screengrab.
Tensions in the Middle East rose with a major attack by Iran inside Iraq.
"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," Reuters reported.
Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffing reported, "According to a senior US official, the missiles fired toward the US Consulate in Erbil emanated from Iran. Multiple missiles were fired. None hit the Consulate. No Americans were injured."
Bob Brigham
March 12, 2022
Screengrab.
Tensions in the Middle East rose with a major attack by Iran inside Iraq.
"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," Reuters reported.
Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffing reported, "According to a senior US official, the missiles fired toward the US Consulate in Erbil emanated from Iran. Multiple missiles were fired. None hit the Consulate. No Americans were injured."
Iran alleges 'secret Israeli bases' targeted in Erbil strike
Iranian TV says 'secret Israeli bases' were the real target of an attempted attack on U.S. consulate in Iraq Saturday night.
Israel National News
13.03.22
IraniStock
An American source speaking to the Reuters news agency said 12 missiles were launched from the direction of the Kermanshah district in Iran towards the American consulate in Erbil in northern Iraq on Saturday night.
There were no casualties or damage to U.S.-owned facilities in the area. A State Department spokesman called it a "scandalous provocation."
Rocket attacks have regularly targeted Iraqi bases as well as the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, where the US embassy is located, since the U.S. elimination of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January of 2020.
The Saudi channel Al-Hadath said the attack was launched in retaliation for the killing of two Revolutionary Guards officers in an air strike in Syria widely attributed to Israel.
The attack follows reports that Israel's defense establishment has raised the alert level in the north of the country, fearing Iranian retaliation.
A report on official Iranian TV alleged that the attempted strike was intended to target "secret Israeli bases" in Iraq.
Tehran also released a statement that security forced have uncovered an Israeli "spy network" in the west of the country.
An American source speaking to the Reuters news agency said 12 missiles were launched from the direction of the Kermanshah district in Iran towards the American consulate in Erbil in northern Iraq on Saturday night.
There were no casualties or damage to U.S.-owned facilities in the area. A State Department spokesman called it a "scandalous provocation."
Rocket attacks have regularly targeted Iraqi bases as well as the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, where the US embassy is located, since the U.S. elimination of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January of 2020.
The Saudi channel Al-Hadath said the attack was launched in retaliation for the killing of two Revolutionary Guards officers in an air strike in Syria widely attributed to Israel.
The attack follows reports that Israel's defense establishment has raised the alert level in the north of the country, fearing Iranian retaliation.
A report on official Iranian TV alleged that the attempted strike was intended to target "secret Israeli bases" in Iraq.
Tehran also released a statement that security forced have uncovered an Israeli "spy network" in the west of the country.
Volley of missiles hits Iraq’s Kurdish capital Erbil, no casualties reported
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.
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.
© Safin Hamed, AFP
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.
(REUTERS)
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.
(REUTERS)
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