Erbil
Missiles hit Kurdish capital in Iraq
The old town of Erbil with the bazaar and Bakhi Shar Park in December 2018. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
According to Kurdish security forces, the city of Erbil was attacked by rockets launched outside of Iraq. Is Iran Behind It?
The capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, Erbil, was fired at with twelve rockets early on Sunday morning.
The Kurdish interior ministry said the rockets were aimed at the US consulate and landed in a residential area. Kurdish TV channel Rudaw reported that some rockets fell near the new consulate, which is currently under construction. Several buildings were damaged. According to the Interior Ministry, one person was slightly injured.
Kurdish security forces said the rockets were fired from outside Iraq, from the east. There lies Iran. Iraqi militias allied with Iran have repeatedly fired missiles at targets used by the United States. Erbil has also been attacked before. But the rockets were always fired from Iraqi soil.
Militias allied with Iraq had demanded the withdrawal of US troops who were in the country to support the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). The US combat mission officially ended at the end of last year. After the withdrawal of the combat troops of the US-led international anti-IS coalition, military advisers should remain in Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi said on Twitter that the shelling was an attack on the security of the Iraqi people. The President of the Kurdish autonomous regions, Masrur Barzani, spoke of a “terrorist attack”.