Iraq Emergency! 12 Foreign Missiles Hit U.S. Consulate

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According to the Associated Press, multiple Iraqi security officials said that as many as 12 missiles hit the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on March 13, local time, near the local U.S. consulate. A U.S. Defense Department official claimed that the missile was launched from Iran.

The Associated Press noted that Iraqi and U.S. officials have given different accounts of the details of the missile attack and the damage it caused. An Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles hit the U.S. consulate, which was the target of the attack. A U.S. official said no U.S. government facilities were damaged, and there was no indication that the target was the U.S. consulate building, which is newly built and currently unused. Later, Lawk Ghafari, head of the Kurdistan Foreign Media Office, said no missiles hit the US consulate facility, but the area around the embassy compound was hit.

The U.S. defense official said it was still uncertain how many missiles Iran had launched and where exactly they landed.

Multiple Iraqi security officials said there were no reports of casualties from the attack, which they said occurred shortly after midnight and caused material damage in the area.

Video broadcast by Kurdistan 24, a satellite radio station near the US consulate in Erbil, broadcast shortly after the attack showed shattered glass and debris on the studio floor.

An Iraqi official said the ballistic missile was launched from Iran, without elaborating. U.S. officials could not confirm the type of missile but noted that the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government were investigating the incident. In a statement, U.S. officials said the U.S. condemned "the gross attacks and manifestations of violence against Iraqi sovereignty."

A few days ago, Israeli missiles attacked some targets in the southern suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus, killing two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iran's foreign ministry strongly condemned the attack on the 10th and stressed that Israel's action would not go unanswered.