Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked an Israeli “spy headquarters” in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported late Monday, while the elite force also announced attacks against Islamic State in Syria.
The airstrikes came amid concerns about escalating conflicts across the Middle East since the war began on October 7 between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, with Iran's allies including Lebanon, Syria, , Iraq and Yemen are also participating in the war.
“In response to the Zionist regime's recent atrocities that have led to the killing of Guards and Axis of Resistance commanders, one of Mossad's main spy headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region has been destroyed by a ballistic missile.” the military said in a statement. .
Reuters could not independently verify the report. Israeli government officials were not immediately available for comment.
Iraq on Tuesday condemned Iran's “aggression” into Erbil, which caused civilian casualties in a residential area, according to a statement from the country's foreign ministry.
In a statement, the Iraqi government said it would take all legal action against these acts, which it considers to violate Iraq's sovereignty and the security of its people, including filing a complaint with the United Nations Security Council.
Last month, Iran vowed revenge for the killing of three senior Guardsmen who served as military advisers in Syria.
More than 130 Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon have been killed in fighting since Hamas fighters entered Israeli territory on October 7, followed by Israeli bombing raids in Gaza and Lebanon.
“We assure the public that the Guard's offensive operations will continue until we avenge the last drop of the blood of our martyrs,” the Guard's statement said.
In addition to the attack on a residential area near the U.S. consulate northeast of Kurdistan's capital Erbil, the Guard said Iran “launched a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and annihilated perpetrators of terrorist operations, including Islamic State.” .
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
US condemns Erbil attack as 'reckless'
The U.S. State Department condemned the attack near Erbil as “reckless,” but officials said no U.S. facilities were targeted and there were no U.S. casualties.
“We tracked the missiles that landed in northern Iraq and northern Syria. No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrian Watson said in a statement.
“We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a series of reckless and misguided attacks,” he said. “The United States supports Iraq's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. ” he added.
Earlier this month, Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions at a monument to Supreme Commander Qasem Soleimani in the southeastern city of Kerman, killing nearly 100 people and injuring many others.
Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, has accused the United States of supporting what it calls Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The United States has said it supports the Israeli operation but has expressed concern about the number of Palestinian civilians killed.
“Crimes against the Kurds”
In a statement from his official residence, Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the attack on Erbil as a “crime against the Kurdish people.”
The Kurdistan government's security committee said in a statement that the attack on Erbil killed at least four civilians and injured six others, calling it a “crime.”
Iraqi security and medical officials said the dead included billionaire Kurdish businessman Peshrau Dizai and several members of his family, who were killed when at least one rocket hit their home. did.
Mr. Dizai, who was close to the ruling Barzani clan, owned a business that led large-scale real estate projects in Kurdistan.
In addition, one rocket fell on the home of a senior Kurdish intelligence official and another on a Kurdish intelligence center, halting air traffic at Erbil airport, security sources said.
Iran has previously attacked Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, accusing the region of being used as a base for Iranian separatist forces and agents of its arch-rival Israel.
Baghdad is seeking to address Iranian concerns about separatist groups in the mountain border region, moving to relocate some members as part of a 2023 security deal with Tehran.
