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Iran may have dramatically stepped up its involvement in the Middle East conflict with the US. Today, Iran’s IRGC reportedly launched missiles at a US consulate in Erbil, Iraq. At least that’s one of several stories that are now circulating. What we know for sure is that missiles did land in the area of Erbil.
#Breaking: U.S. Officials confirm a ballistic missile attack near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Northern Iraq, was directly launched by the IRGC from Iranian territory. pic.twitter.com/grELRfqIM6
Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 15, 2024
This area has been under attack by Iran-backed militants for weeks. Last month, three US service personnel were injured by drone attack, leaving one of them critically injured.
A U.S. base in Iraq’s Erbil that houses U.S. forces came under attack from a one-way drone earlier on Monday, leading to the latest U.S. casualties.
The base has been repeatedly targeted. Reuters reported on another significant drone attack in October on the barracks at the Erbil base on Oct. 26, which penetrated U.S. air defenses but failed to detonate…
The U.S. military has already come under attack at least 100 times in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones.
The US carried out an airstrike in response to the attack which reportedly killed some Hezbollah militants. What’s different about today’s attack is that it came directly from Iran, not from militants who are supposedly operating independently. However, as mentioned, there is some confusion about what the target was here. Was it the US consulate or something else nearby?
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they attacked espionage centers and “gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” near Iraq’s northern city of Erbil with ballistic missiles, Iranian state media said late on Monday.
