CONFLICT
Iran lanceert raketaanvallen in Irak en Syrië
January 16, 2024 - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they have struck what it claimed were Israeli “spy headquarters” in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and also hit Islamic State targets inside Syria.
Four civilians were killed and six injured after missiles hit an upscale area near the U.S. consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the security council of the Kurdish regional government.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that it had hit a headquarters of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Another statement said it had fired a number of ballistic missiles at “terrorist operations,” including Islamic State targets, in Syria and destroyed them.
The strikes, which took place late on Monday, come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and fears of a wider spillover of the ongoing war in Gaza.
A U.S. defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that had not been made public said the U.S. tracked the missiles, which hit in northern Iraq and northern Syria, and no U.S. facilities were struck or damaged in the attacks. The official said initial indications were that the strikes were “reckless and imprecise,” according to AP.