US condemns Iran for 'reckless' missile strikes on northern Iraq
The United States has criticized Iran for ballistic missile attacks in the vicinity of Irbil, a northern city in Iraq, denouncing them as "reckless and imprecise strikes."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards asserted that they targeted what they identified as Israeli "spy headquarters" in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Region Security Council reported four fatalities and six injuries resulting from the attack.
Iraq has condemned the attacks, labeling them a breach of its sovereignty. Israel's government has not yet responded to the Iranian assertions.
Additionally, Kurdistan authorities reported on Tuesday that they had successfully downed three armed drones over Irbil airport, where U.S. and international forces are stationed, without providing details on damage or casualties.
These Iranian strikes coincide with heightened tensions in the region since the outbreak of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7.
The Iranian strikes come amid rising tensions in the region since the war between Israel the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas broke out in the Gaza Strip on 7 October.
The conflict has increasingly started to spill over to involve militias allied to Iran operating in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
"We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement.
"The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq," she said, adding that no US personnel or facilities were targeted.
Iran has carried out missile attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan before, targeting what it said were sites used by Iranian separatist groups and agents of Israel.
The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, condemned the latest attack on Irbil as a "crime against the Kurdish people".
A prominent businessman, Peshraw Dizayee, was among four civilians killed, Mr Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party said.
The Revolutionary Guards also said they had targeted Islamic State (IS) group positions in Syria on Monday night.
Explosions were reported in Aleppo and its surrounding areas in north-western Syria, with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stating that "at least four missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea" were involved.
The Revolutionary Guards declared that the strikes in Syria were a response to a recent suicide bombing targeting crowds commemorating the anniversary of the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
