The rocket attack on the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan targeted two Israeli intelligence bases of Mossad, said the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
IRGC statement, “last night [12 March, ed] the ‘Strategic Center of Zionist Conspiracy and Evil were targeted by powerful missiles.”
“Once again, we warn the criminal Zionist regime that the repetition of any evil will face harsh, decisive and destructive responses,” the statement added.
IRGC said the attacks were in response to the previous Israeli operation against Iran, which was carried out from Iraqi Kurdistan; it has nothing to do with the Syrian strikes. But the statement said that Iran’s response to the martyrdom of two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria by Israel will be timely.
Iranian officials said that “Mossad headquarters on Salah al-Din recreational road was destroyed, and agents were killed and wounded.”
The Iraqi News Agency reported that several rockets were fired at the U.S. Consulate in Erbil. The new U.S. consulate in the Golden Horn area is half-finished and uninhabited.
A State Department spokesman condemned the attack, saying no casualties had been reported at any U.S. facilities in Iraq. The Pentagon said it was investigating the attacks.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government said none of the rockets hit the building but landed in the surrounding area.
“Erbil is under fire as if the Kurds are not Iraqis,” Muqtada al-Sadr wrote on Twitter.
Users have posted several pictures of the explosions on social media.
Following the attack on Erbil, the Iraqi Prime Minister said that this was an attack on the security of the Iraqi people. According to Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqi security forces are investigating the attack and will stand up to any threat against the Iraqi people.
Following the attack, several U.S. House of Representatives and Senate members called on the Republican Party to suspend any talks on a nuclear deal with Iran in the wake of Sunday morning’s attack on Erbil.
U.S. response: No damage
The U.S. State Department said the attack did not cause any damage or casualties in any of the U.S. government facilities.
“There were no reports of injuries or damage to any U.S. government facilities,” said a State Department spokesperson on Saturday night in response to the attack on a U.S. military base in Erbil, Iraq. “This incident is being investigated by the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and we refer you to them for comment. We condemn this cruel attack and the display of violence,” the spokesperson added.
KRG Interior Ministry: Attack with 12 long-range ballistic missiles from outside Iraq / Barzani
According to Iraqi media Baghdad Al-Youm, the Ministry of Interior of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said in a statement, “In the evening of 12 / 13-3-2022 at 1:00 AM, 12 long-range ballistic missiles from the east and outside the borders of Iraq to the new U.S. Consulate building in Erbil and civilian areas near the building of Kurdistan 24 channel and its surroundings was fired upon.”
The statement said that the attack caused material damage to buildings and houses but did not cause any casualties other than a superficial injury to a civilian.
Kurdistan Interior Ministry said, “Police and security forces have launched an investigation into this attack, and the results will be made public soon. We assure the citizens of Erbil and the people of the Kurdistan Region that Erbil is safe and that this It will remain so.”
Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, while strongly condemning the terrorist attack that took place in several parts of Erbil, said, “Erbil will not bow to the cowards, and I call on the heroic and resilient people of Erbil to be patient.”
Kurdish sources claim that the Iranians used Fateh-110 missiles.
The Iraqi Security Information Center said that the rockets fired landed in several different areas, adding that the security forces have started an investigation, and they will announce the details of the incident later.
The Iraqi Security Information Center said, “These actions are unjustifiable and have no destiny, but failure and the perpetrators will be punished.”