Twelve ballistic missiles fired from across the border hit US interests in the early hours of the morning, injuring two civilians and damaging property, according to officials in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have confirmed that they fired projectiles and claimed to be targeting locations used by Israel, a key US ally.
A statement issued in this regard said that “a strategic center of Zionist conspiracies and mischief was hit by powerful missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”.
There was no immediate reaction from Israel, with Kurdish officials insisting that the Jewish state had no place in or around Erbil and accusing Iran of pursuing itself without international condemnation. Mukhtar is repeatedly targeting the area.
Iran has considerable influence over the federal government in Baghdad, and the number of US troops leading the coalition against ISIS in Iraq is dwindling.
Washington has generally blamed its interests in Iraq and rocket and drone strikes on Kurdish locations on pro-Iranian groups demanding the withdrawal of the remaining Western troops, but cross-border missile fires are rare.
A correspondent in Erbil said he heard three explosions just before dawn.
Taxi driver Zarian Wazir said he was in his car when the missile struck and he saw a lot of dust and then heard a loud noise. He said the windows of his car were broken and his face was bruised.
Sunday’s missile strike comes almost a week after Revolutionary Guards vowed to avenge the deaths of two of its personnel killed in a rocket attack in Syria.
The Revolutionary Guards blamed Israel for the attack and said it would pay the price.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in a statement on Twitter accused Iran of “repeatedly targeting Kurdistan.”
The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that they once again warned the guilty Zionist regime that any retaliation would face a harsh, decisive and devastating response.
Erbil Governor Omid Khochnau told a news conference that a taxi driver as well as a farm trustee had been injured. The missile landed in the open but damaged buildings and homes.
In Erbil, the Interior Ministry said the “new building” of the US consulate in a residential suburb of the city had been attacked.
The Kurdistan 24 television channel, located near the US consulate, has posted pictures of its destroyed offices on social networks, showing broken roofs and broken glass.