MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Iran carried out missile strikes on targets in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan autonomous region in northern Iraq, and in the Syrian province of Idlib in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the Kurdish authorities, the attack killed at least four people, including a major Kurdish businessman, and left another six wounded. US authorities said that no US nationals had been affected.
TASS has gathered the key takeaways about the attack.
Strikes on Erbil
- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced ballistic missile strikes on targets in Iraqi Kurdistan.
- According to Iran, "spy centers" belonging to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, as well as the stationing areas of "anti-Iranian terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan," were hit.
- According to Reuters, explosions were heard in an area located some 40 kilometers northeast of Erbil, as well as near the US consulate in the city.
- ABC News reported, citing sources, that missile strikes had, in particular, hit eight targets near the US consulate in Erbil.
- Tehran stated that the missile attack had been carried out in response to the January 3 terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Kerman and the killing of IRGC commanders.
Outcome of missile attack
- Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan said that four civilians had been killed in the missile strike and another six people had suffered wounds.
- Erbil International Airport suspended operations right after the attack began, with three drones downed in the area. The airport resumed operations on Tuesday morning.
- The strikes killed Peshraw Dizayee, Kurdish businessman and owner of the Falcon Group, and four of his family members, Hemin Hawrami, former speaker of the autonomous region’s parliament, said on X (formerly Twitter).
- According to Reuters, Dizayee was engaged in real estate transactions and construction projects in Iraqi Kurdistan and had close ties with the family of regional Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
- Reuters reported, citing local sources, that the home of a high-ranking Kurdish intelligence official and one of the offices of a Kurdish intelligence service in Erbil had also come under attack.
- White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that no US personnel or facilities had been hit.
IRGC’s strike on Syria
- The IRGC command also announced a ballistic missile strike on terrorist facilities in Syria.
- According to the Al Mayadeen TV channel, a mercenary camp in Idlib came under attack where militants from the Islamic State-Khorasan Province group (known as ISIS-K, a branch of the Islamic State terrorist organization, which is outlawed in Russia) are based.
Reaction to strikes
- From the US side, Watson slammed the IRGC’s attack on targets in Iraqi Kurdistan as "a reckless and imprecise set of strikes."
- The US tracked the missiles that struck in northern Iraq and northern Syria, she said.
- Barzani condemned Iran’s missile strikes as "a cowardly attack," calling on Baghdad "to take a principled stand against the outrageous violation of sovereignty of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan."
- Iraqi Kurdistan’s Security Council described the Iranian attack as "a violation of the security agreement between Baghdad and Tehran."