A dozen missiles strike near US consulate in north Iraq, no injuries reported
Baghdad/IBNS: A total of 12 missiles struck Iraq's northern city of Irbil on Sunday near the United States consulate, media reports said. There have been no casualties.
According to US defense official, the missiles had been launched at the city from neighbouring Iran.
There was no damage at any US government facility. As per another US official, there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied.
An Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the US consulate and that it was the target of the attack.
Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistans foreign media office, said none of the missiles hit the US facility but that areas around the compound had been hit by the missiles.
The incident is being investigated by the government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government.
The US has condemned what it called an outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty.
On Sunday, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iraqi media acknowledging the attacks in Irbil, without mentioning where they originated.
The US forces stationed at Erbil’s international airport complex have in the past come under fire from rocket and drone attacks that US officials blame on Iran-aligned armed groups, but no such attacks have occurred for several months.
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