updates
Videos show large explosions
Iran allegedly fires missiles at US consulate in Iraq
3/13/2022 1:24 am
According to a media report and the Iraqi news agency INA, twelve rockets were fired in the direction of the US consulate in Erbil in north-west Iraq during the night. The attack is believed to have come from Iran.
Like the Israeli newspaper “Jerusalem Post” With reference to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), several rockets were fired in the direction of the US consulate in Erbil in northwestern Iraq on Sunday night. The information has not yet been independently verified.
About 12 rockets are said to have been fired from Iranian territory. They struck near the US consulate. The Kurdish Counter-Terrorism Service announced that the missiles were fired from “outside the borders of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, particularly from the east,” according to INA.
Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnav said several rockets had landed in the area, although it was unclear whether the target was the US consulate or the city’s airport. Part of the airfield is also used by the US military. Allegedly, two training centers of the Israeli secret service Mossad could also have been the target of the attack. Videos circulating on social media show several large explosions in the area.
The Agency Reuters reports citing government officials that there have been no casualties among military personnel in Erbil. There are said to have been no other injuries or deaths in the attack.
According to the Jerusalem Post, independent open source intelligence accounts (a term from the world of intelligence services that collects information from freely available, open sources for intelligence purposes) have distributed videos that are said to come from Iranian civilians and allegedly show that missiles were being fired from Iran at the time of the attack. According to the newspaper, at least one of the videos could be traced to a location in Khasabad in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
“Attack on the security of our people”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhaimi tweeted in response to the rocket attack on Erbil: “The aggression aimed at the dear city of Erbil and spreading fear among its residents is an attack on the security of our people.” He discussed the developments with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani. “Our security forces will investigate and stand firm against any threats to our people.”
Barzani, responded to the attack on Saturday evening and said, according to the Jerusalem Post: “I strongly condemn the terrorist attack on parts of Erbil and call on the brave and patient people of Erbil to be patient and follow the instructions of the security authorities.”
According to Kurdistan 24, the studio of the TV station in the area was also damaged in the attack. On the Facebook account Kurdistan 24 reports live about the rockets and the devastated studio.
The rocket attack comes at a time when negotiations in Vienna on returning to the nuclear deal with Iran have stalled. Before that, however, there had been substantial progress in the negotiations. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell tweeted on Friday that talks needed a “pause” due to “external factors”. Borrell added that a final text is “essentially ready” and “on the table”.