PM:03:05:13/03/2022
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SULAIMANI — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) claimed responsibility for Sunday’s missile attack on Erbil, claiming
the strike targeted a Zionist "strategic center,” Tasnim News Agency said on Sunday
(March 13).
The IRGC said in a statement the attack was a
response to "recent crimes of the fake Zionist regime” and warned, "The
repetition of any evil will face harsh, decisive and destructive responses.”
The statement likely refers to an airstrike near
Damascus that killed two members of the IRGC at a weapons and ammunition depot run
by Iran-backed militias. The IRGC blamed Israel for the rocket attack and swore
revenge, according to the Times of Israel.
The Kurdistan Counter Terrorism Directorate said at
1 am on Sunday, 12 ballistic missiles struck Erbil, noting the rockets came from
the east, outside the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The missiles struck near the
new US consulate in Erbil and the directorate initially said the attack
targeted the compound.
A US official cited by the Associated Press said
there was no evidence the attack targeted the US consulate in Erbil. The US
State Department said there were no casualties and no damage to US facilities.
The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) Foreign Media Relations, Lawk Ghafuri, said the missiles fell in areas of
civilian residence and called on the international community and the Iraqi
Parliament to investigate and take action.
Ghafuri posted a statement from the KRG, which
noted the Kurdistan Region has been attacked multiple times and the lack of
response from the international community would motivate further attacks.
Officials and political leaders in the Kurdistan Region
and Iraq quickly condemned the attack on Sunday.
The President of the New Generation Movement,
Shaswar Abdulwahid, said, "We strongly condemn the attack on Erbil, the US
Consulate and Coalition forces. The delegations and forces in the Kurdistan
Region are here at the request of the people of Kurdistan and will continue to
be here in the future to protect our citizens in the Region and throughout
Iraq.”
The Spokesperson for the KRG, Jotiar Adil, said, "No
terrorist attempt can jeopardize our region or the peace and security of our
people.”
(NRT Digital Media)