Iran launches missile attacks in Iraq and Syria, citing terrorist attacks
Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched a rocket attack on what they called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in a northern Iraqi city around midnight on Tuesday, setting off large explosions and sirens, including at the US consulate.
Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Security Council said the attack in the city of Erbil killed at least four civilians and briefly diverted air traffic, officials said.
A separate ballistic missile attack hit targets in Syria linked to Islamic State, the Guard said.
A statement from the elite Revolutionary Guards said the missile attack in Erbil was aimed at “the destruction of spy headquarters and sites that anti-Iranian terrorist groups” used to plan a suicide bombing in Kerman, Iran, killing 86 people. came to life. this month during a memorial parade for Major General Qassim Suleimani. The Guards also cited a December attack on a police headquarters in Rask, Iran, that killed at least 11 officers.
Some Iranian leaders initially appeared to blame Israel for the attack on the Suleimani monument, although Islamic State claimed responsibility. In a statement later on Tuesday, the Revolutionary Guards appeared to return to the narrative of blaming Israel, saying the target in Erbil had been the local headquarters of Mossad, Israel's spy agency.
The attacks on the monument and police station were seen as a sign of Iran's vulnerability to infiltration by extremist groups, despite its formidable intelligence and police capabilities.
Direct attacks by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, while not new, are far less common than attacks by Iran's allies.
These militant groups have carried out at least 130 attacks on US installations in Iraq and Syria since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October, after Hamas led an attack in southern Israel that Israeli officials say killed 1,200 people. Israel retaliated by bombing the strip, killing more than 23,000 people and displacing millions, according to Gaza health officials.
Several of the explosions occurred early Tuesday near where a new U.S. consulate is under construction in Erbil, and several other explosions occurred near Erbil airport. A US official said: “No US facilities were affected. We are not monitoring any infrastructure damage or injuries at this time.”
Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the most populous city. The Kurdish Region Security Council called on the international community to condemn the Iranian attack, which it described as “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Kurdish Region and Iraq and the federal government.”
In a statement, the council said that “Erbil is a stable region and has never been a threat to any party,” adding: “The Revolutionary Guards said the attack targeted several locations of Iranian opposition groups. Unfortunately, they always use baseless excuses to attack Erbil.”
Kifah Mahmood, a former media adviser to Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan's retired longtime leader, said the Revolutionary Guards had tried to cover up “their own security failures” in Kerman by staging a retaliatory attack. “But unfortunately,” he said, “the rockets landed on civilians, killing some and injuring others.”
The attacks came as Iran-linked groups targeted US bases and camps in Iraq and Syria, and Iranian proxy groups such as the Houthi militants in Yemen attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea amid Israel's war against Hamas, the group who controls parts of the country. of the Gaza Strip. They are acting, the Houthis say, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
These attacks have increased tensions in the Middle East and increased the risk that an already dangerous situation could spiral into even greater regional violence.
Falih Hassan contributed from Baghdad, and Erik Schmitt from Washington.