The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a faction of the Iranian Armed Forces, has initiated a missile assault targeting Israeli "spy centers" in Erbil, the administrative center of Iraqi Kurdistan.
"Ballistic missiles were used to destroy spy centers of the Zionist regime (Israel - TASS) belonging to the Mossad, as well as gatherings of anti-Iranian terrorist groups in Iraqi Kurdistan," declared the IRGC in a statement circulated through Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.
The strikes were framed as a direct response to the January 3 terrorist attack in Kerman and "perceived provocations by the State of Israel, leading to the martyrdom of commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the broader resistance axis."
According to Reuters, the explosions resonated approximately 40 kilometers northeast of Erbil, with the US consulate in the city facing proximity to the blasts. Remarkably, US facilities weren't damaged.
Nevertheless, the missile strike claimed the lives of four civilians, including Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and members of his family, with the international airport of Erbil briefly suspending operations in the immediate aftermath.
Former speaker of the autonomous region's parliament, Hemin Hawrami, conveyed on X (formerly Twitter) that the strike also targeted the residence of a senior Kurdish intelligence official.
This recent assault follows a series of 2022 operations by IRGC units targeting the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan in Erbil and the United Party of Iranian Kurdistan in Sulaymaniyah, both classified as terrorist organizations by Tehran. These actions were executed against the backdrop of anti-government unrest in Kurdish-populated regions of Iran, with accusations pointing to the involvement of separatist Kurdish organizations based in Iraq.
In September 2023, Tehran and Baghdad reached an agreement resulting in the disarmament of groups operating along the Iran-Iraq border, providing a temporary reprieve from hostilities.
IRGC strike on Syria
The IRGC announced a ballistic missile strike on terrorist targets in Syria on the night of January 16. The operation targeted sites linked to the Kerman bombings, specifically hitting a mercenary camp in Idlib housing militants from the Islamic State - Khorasan Province (IS-Khorasan, an offshoot of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia).
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Sammy Six/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS