ALBAWABA - The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced striking "espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" in Iraq and Syria, before midnight local time on Monday.
State media reported, citing the IRGC, that a "spy headquarters" and a "gathering of anti-Iran terrorist groups" in Syria were destroyed with ballistic missiles. Unconfirmed reports say that the missiles hit near the US-led International Coalition Headquarters & the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Kurdistan.
"In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance ... one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters in Iraq's Kurdistan region was destroyed with ballistic missiles," the IRGC said in a statement.
The attack killed four civilians and injured six, in what the Erbil government's security council in a statement, describing the attack, as a "crime."
The U.S. State Department condemned the attacks near Erbil, calling them "reckless," but officials said no U.S. facilities were targeted and there were no U.S. casualties, Reuters reported.
Commenting on the attacks, Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement: "We tracked the missiles, which impacted in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted,".
"We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes. The United States supports the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq" Watson added.
In a statement from his office, Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned the attack on Erbil as a "crime against the Kurdish people."
Earlier this month, two suicidal bombing attacks targeted the shrine where IRGC Commander Qaasem Soleimani is laid to rest in Iran, where 93 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
