News Brief
Nishtha Anushree
Jan 16, 2024, 12:51 PM | Updated 12:51 PM IST
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Iran has claimed responsibility for launching ballistic missiles near the US Consulate in Iraq's Erbil citing retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards say that they destroyed "a spy headquarters" and a "gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups", NDTV reported.
The said area falls in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The attacks on late Monday (15 January) are known to have killed four people and wounded six.
Reuters quoted the guards as saying, "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."
This comes after Iran had vowed to avenge the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month. The US has condemned the attacks and opposed "Iran's reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq's stability."
However, Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council clarified that no US personnel of facilities were targeted.
Iran has also claimed to have "fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations."
This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict which began on 7 October. Iran supports Hamas while Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that this war was "against Iranian terror axis."
Last month, Iran was jolted by twin bomb blasts, which killed over 100 people. While the Islamic State claimed responsibility for it, Iran's president Raisi blamed US and Israel.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.