At least 12 missiles landed on targets in northern Iraq, hitting an area near a U.S. Consulate in the city of Erbil in the early hours of Sunday, the state news agency quoted the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism in Kurdistan as saying.
“Several missiles fell on the city of Erbil,” said governor Omid Khoshnaw, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) also reported. Erbil is the capital city of the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq.
“No victims or casualties after Erbil blasts,” Saman Barzanji, health minister in Iraq’s Kurdistan Province, was cited as saying.
A spokesman for the Kurdish regional government said there were no casualties. 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.
No flight interruptions have been reported at Erbil airport.
One of the missiles fell on the headquarters of the Kurdish satellite channel K24, which is affiliated with the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq , Masrour Barzani. The building is near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil.
Iran later claimed responsibility for the missile strike on the northern Iraqi city, saying it targeted an Israeli “strategic centre” and warning of more attacks.
In the past, U.S. forces stationed at Erbil’s international airport complex have come under fire from rocket and drone attacks that U.S. officials blame on Iran-aligned militia groups. There have been no such attacks for several months.
“And there are reports the Fateh-110s were used tonight, which also made a cameo appearance in the Soleimani revenge attack on U.S. forces in #Iraq on 01/08/2020. Would note #Iran has also launched Fateh-110s before on #Iraq, e.g. in September 2018 on KDPI HQ in Koya.”
An Israeli air strike in Syria killed two IRGC members on March 7, Iranian state media reported earlier. The IRGC vowed to retaliate, it said.
In a statement on March 13, the White House said the United States “condemns in the strongest terms Iran’s missile attack on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”
“This attack targeted a civilian residence in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region’s capital city, without any justification. The United States stands with Prime Minister Kadhimi and the leaders of the Kurdistan Region, President Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, in condemning this assault on the sovereignty of Iraq and its Kurdistan region.
“We will support the Government of Iraq in holding Iran accountable, and we will support our partners throughout the Middle East in confronting similar threats from Iran. The United States of America stands behind the full sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq.”