Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (IRGC) claimed responsibility for an attack near the US Consulate in Iraq that targeted Israel's alleged "espionage centers."
The IRGC said that they attacked the alleged espionage headquarters of Israel located in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The elite force also noted that they launched a separate assault in Syria against the Islamic State.
In a statement, Iran's guard corps said that ballistic missiles were launched and destroyed espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in the region. Those particular assaults targeted the northeast of Kurdistan's capital, Erbil.
Furthermore, the IRGC's other target was the "perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran. Despite the incident, two American officials said that the missile strikes impacted no US facilities.
The situation comes amid rising concerns about the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group on Oct. 7, 2023, as per Reuters.
Iran has been accusing the United States of supporting what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza, and in response, the US government said that it was backing Israel in its campaign. However, the US raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians that have been killed amid the conflict.
There were at least four civilians who lost their lives, while six others were injured in the strikes on Erbil. The victims included multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family. Their death came after one rocket crashed into their home.
Dizayee, who had a close relationship with the ruling Barzani clan, owned businesses that led major real estate projects in Kurdistan. On top of the incident, one rocket fell on the house of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence center.
Following the latest attacks, the Iraqi government announced that it will hold a security meeting on Tuesday to talk about the "Iranian violation of Iraqi territory and Iranian non-compliance with the security agreement between the two countries," according to ABC News.
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Iran's IRGC Claims Responsibility
Erbil Gov. Omed Khoshnaw said that the assaults can be considered terrorist attacks, calling them inhumane. The attacks come as the US and allied forces have been subjected to dozens of attacks in Iraq and Syria. US President Joe Biden's administration has blamed these incidents on Iran-affiliated armed groups.
Earlier this month, the IRGC also claimed responsibility for an attack in Iran's southeastern city of Kerman, where nearly 100 people lost their lives. Rockets have frequently targeted US troops and facilities in Baghdad.
Tensions escalated after a Washington-directed drone strike killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last year. Former United States President Donald Trump said that the death of a US contractor would be a red line and provoke US escalation in Iraq.
The remark was a reference to the December 2019 killing of a US civilian contractor in a rocket attack in Kirkuk. It sparked a tit-for-tat fight on Iraqi soil that brought the nation to the brink of a proxy war, said the Daily Sabah.
