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2022 Erbil missile attacks

Not to be confused with 2021 Erbil rocket attacks.
2022 Erbil missile attacks
Part of Iran–Israel proxy conflict
Location of Erbil
LocationErbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Date13 March 2022, 1:20 a.m. (local time, UTC+3)
Attack type
Missile attack
WeaponsFateh-110
DeathsNone (per Kurdish officials)[1]
3 killed (per Iranian media)[2]
Injured1 civilian (per Kurdish officials)[1]
7 injured (per Iranian media)[2]
PerpetratorIran Iran
MotiveIn retaliation to Israeli sabotage operations in Iran[3]

The 2022 Erbil missile attacks occurred on 13 March 2022 when multiple ballistic missiles were launched by the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from East Azerbaijan province, Iran, against the city of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.[4][5]

12 Fateh-110 ballistic missiles were reportedly launched from Iran.[6] The IRGC said that the target was Israel's "strategic center" in Erbil. Kurdish authorities reported that among the places hit by the missiles were the city's American consulate and a residential neighbourhood. One civilian was confirmed injured by the attack by Kurdish officials.[1] According to one US official, the targets encompassed buildings where a Mossad cell was suspected of operating, according to a conversation with an Iraqi counterpart.[7] In reality, the missiles targeted the villa of Baz Karim Barzanji, CEO of KAR Group, a company aimed to supply Turkey and Europe with gas.[8]

The next day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the attack.[9]

Background

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A few days before, IRGC released a statement promising Israel will pay for the killings of Ehsan Karbalaipour and Morteza Saeidnejad, two IRGC colonels killed in an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus in Syria on 7 March.[10][11][12] Major General Hossein Salami, IRGC Commander-in-Chief and General Amir Ali Hajizadeh attended their funerals.[13]

The attack

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The ballistic missiles struck the target at 1:20 a.m., the same time of the assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani by a U.S. drone strike in 2020.[14]

Reactions

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On Sunday, Iraq summoned the ambassador of Iran to protest the missile attack.[15]

Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr responded to the attack by tweeting "The territory of Iraq from south to north, and east to west should not be part of conflicts and that Iraq's "involvement" in conflicts was a dangerous precedent, while calling on the competent authorities to immediately send a protest letter to the United Nations and additionally to summon the Iranian ambassador.[16][17]

The airstrikes were also denounced by Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the United States Department of State,[18][1] President of Iraq Barham Salih and Iraqi Kurdish former president Masoud Barzani, the latter two of whom described it as a terrorist attack.[19][20]

Israel's officials declined to comment.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ismail, Amina (2022-03-13). "Ballistic missiles hit Iraq's Kurdish capital, Iran's Revolutionary Guard claim responsibility". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  2. ^ a b Rasheed, Ahmed; Coskun, Orhan (2022-03-28). "EXCLUSIVE Iran struck Iraq target over gas talks involving Israel - officials". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  3. ^ "IRGC Claims Responsibility for Missile Attack on Erbil". 13 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Iran Attacks Iraq's Erbil With Missiles in Warning to U.S., Allies". Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  5. ^ Agencies, The New Arab Staff & (March 12, 2022). "Multiple rockets fall in Erbil, northern Iraq, says state news agency". english.alaraby.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Rogoway, Stetson Payne and Tyler (12 March 2022). "Ballistic Missiles Strike Near U.S. Base in Erbil, Iraq (Updated)". The Drive. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  7. ^ Loveluck, Louisa; Horton, Alex. "After nuclear talks break down, Iran claims ballistic missile attack in Iraq". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022. One U.S. official, citing a conversation with an Iraqi counterpart, said that the targets included houses where a Mossad cell was suspected to have operated.
  8. ^ "EXCLUSIVE Iran struck Iraq target over gas talks involving Israel - officials". Reuters. 28 March 2023.
  9. ^ "IRGC confirms it hit Mossad training centers inside Iraqi Kurdistan". Tehran Times. 2022-03-13. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  10. ^ "Iran says Israel will pay for Syria attack that killed 2 Revolutionary Guards". Reuters. 2022-03-09. Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  11. ^ "Iran says IRGC members killed in Israeli missile strike in Syria, vows revenge". Al Arabiya English. 2022-03-08. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  12. ^ "شهادت دو تن از پاسداران رشید مدافع حرم در حمله جنایتکارانه موشکی رژیم صهیونیستی به سوریه". ایسنا (in Persian). 2022-03-08. Archived from the original on 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  13. ^ "حضور سرلشکر سلامی و سردار حاجی‌زاده بر پیکرهای شهدای اخیر حمله رژیم صهیونیستی- اخبار نظامی | دفاعی | امنیتی - اخبار سیاسی تسنیم | Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  14. ^ "Iran Hits U.S. Consulate Site in Erbil, Iraq With a Dozen Ballistic Missiles: AP". news.yahoo.com. 13 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  15. ^ "US State Department denounces 'outrageous' Iranian missile attack on Iraq's Erbil". Times of Israel. 2022-03-12.
  16. ^ "بعد استهداف أربيل بصواريخ إيرانية.. الصدر والبارزاني يطالبان بالتحقيق في وجود مقرات إسرائيلية بالعراق". www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  17. ^ "IRGC claims responsibility for missiles towards Iraq". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  18. ^ "Iraqi PM Condemns Erbil Attack, Talks to KRG PM". 2022-03-13. Archived from the original on 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  19. ^ "Iranian Guards claim ballistic missile attacks in Erbil". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  20. ^ "Iraqi president says Erbil missile attack was act of terror". The National. 2022-03-12. Archived from the original on 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-03-14.