The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a jihadist terrorist organization and formal arm of the Iranian armed forces, on Monday, vowed to continue missile campaigns “until avenging the last drops of martyrs’ blood” after bombing Erbil, Iraq, and killing a child ten days before her first birthday.
The IRGC took responsibility for a ballistic missile and drone attack on Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq, claiming that the strikes targeted “Mossad bases” linked to a suicide attack on a memorial event for IRGC top terrorist Qasem Soleimani on January 3. The Islamic State took responsibility for the suicide bombing, which killed more than 80 people at a congregation to mark the fourth anniversary of a U.S. drone strike eliminating Soleimani, the former head of the notorious international terror unit the Quds Force.
The Iranian government claims — without evidence — that the Islamic State, a Sunni jihadist terror organization, is an American proxy militia with ties to Israel. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi claimed shortly after the Soleimani funeral bombing that the jihadist assailants committed the crime as a result of a “Zionist grudge” against Iran.
In its statement on Monday, the IRGC alleged that it had attacked Erbil to destroy Mossad “spy headquarters” in the city.
“Ballistic missiles were used to destroy espionage centers and gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in the region,” the IRGC said. “We assure our nation that the Guards’ offensive operations will continue until avenging the last drops of martyrs’ blood.”
The alleged “Mossad bases” were “totally destroyed,” Iran’s state propaganda outlet PressTV reported.
#BREAKING: Footage submitted by eyewitnesses shows the moments when several ballistic missiles hit Erbil province on Monday evening
READ MORE: https://t.co/PK3JCiHzHM pic.twitter.com/4Cn5NohQdv
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) January 15, 2024
The Iranian Foreign Ministry supported the IRGC by issuing remarks calling the strikes “legitimate and legal.”
“The action was in defense of the country’s sovereignty and security, and countering terrorism, and was a part of the Islamic Republic’s just punishment against violators of the country’s security,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said in remarks on Tuesday, according to PressTV.
“The Islamic Republic has always supported peace, stability, and security in the region and respected other countries’ sovereignty,” Kan’ani asserted, “nonetheless, Tehran will not hesitate to exercise its legitimate and legal right to deter all sources of threats against its national security, defend its citizens and punish the criminals.”
“Terrorism is a global threat, and Iran is determined to counter terrorism within the framework of joint regional and international cooperation,” he concluded.
Kan’ani also claimed that the weapons used in Monday’s strikes were “precise projectiles.” The reality of the damage done by the IRGC attack challenges that claim.
The Kurdistan Regional Government, which aggressively condemned the attack on its territory, denied that any Mossad bases exist in Erbil or anywhere in the KRG. It also said it had no evidence of any damage done to any American assets in Erbil, including the U.S. consulate there, which some reports indicated was the true target of the attack. Anonymous American officials told several news outlets, including Reuters, on Monday that the strikes did not damage any American facilities or injure any U.S. citizens.
“We will continue to assess the situation, but initial indications are that this was a reckless and imprecise set of strikes,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Tuesday. “No U.S. personnel or facilities were targeted. We have been in touch with senior Iraqi officials as well as officials in the Kurdistan Region.”
Instead of hitting any political or military targets, the IRGC bombed the home of Peshraw Dizayee, a Kurdish businessman. The Kurdish news outlet Rudaw reported that the strikes killed Dizayee, who was in his home at the time, and his daughter Zhina, who was 11 months old. Zhina would have celebrated her first birthday on January 25.
A protester holds a picture of a child’s body during a demonstration one day after several areas in Erbil, Iraq, were hit by a missile attack launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on January 16, 2024. (SAFIN HAMID/AFP via Getty Images)
“Dizayee’s wife Hana Jutyar, 7-year-old son Rawan, 26-year-old Rozh, and one of their housekeepers were wounded in the attack. Rozh has reportedly lost one of his hands in the attack. One housekeeper also died as a result of the strike,” Rudaw reported.
The Iranian government did not name Dizayee as a target, nor does any public information exist identifying Dizayee as a declared enemy of the Iranian Islamic regime, a Mossad asset, or part of any group or operation that presents a threat to Tehran.
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani issued an outraged response to the bombings on Tuesday, condemning the attack on a region that had previously had no involvement in the growing conflict between Iran and its terrorist proxies and the United States and Israel.
“These attacks and hostilities against the Kurdistan Region are without reason and are unjustified,” Barzani said. “We at the Kurdistan Region have done all we can to provide more services for our people and develop our relations with neighboring countries in a peaceful manner.”
“We hope that the federal government in Iraq and the international community will take all the necessary measures to stop the repetition of these attacks in the future,” he urged.
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