Iranian forces strike Israel's Mossad 'spy headquarters' in Iraq
Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked the "espionage headquarters" of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Tuesday. The elite force also said it struck in Syria against the Islamic State. The attacks destroyed a "gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups" and "a spy headquarters" in Kurdistan's Erbil, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoting a release from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Why does this story matter?
Regional tensions have soared during the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, drawing in Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. Last year on December 25, Iran claimed an Israeli airstrike killed the senior Guards Commander Razi Moussavi. According to reports, Israel followed this up by killing Wissam Hassan Tawil, a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, last Tuesday.
4 killed, 6 injured in Iranian strikes in Kurdistan
Iraq's Kurdistan Security Council has said that four civilians died and six others suffered injuries in the attack. Meanwhile, the IRGC said that the headquarters served as "the center for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist actions in the region," naming the Mossad spy organization of Israel. It further said that the strike was in response to recent attacks on Iran and the "axis of resistance" of Iran-aligned groups, which flagged concerns over the Jewish nation spreading violence in Gaza.
Visuals of IRGC hitting Mossad headquarters
Attack on Syria
On the other hand, the IRGC hit targets in Syria with ballistic missiles. As per Sepah News, this included the "gathering places of commanders and main elements related to recent terrorist operations, particularly the Islamic State group." Iran's revolutionary guards added that the strike on Syria was in response to recent attacks by terrorist groups that killed several Iranians in Rask and Kerman.
US 'strongly condemns' Iran's attacks
Amid IRGC's aggressive approach in Syria and Iran, the United States (US) publicly condemned the attacks and termed the strikes "reckless." "The United States strongly condemns Iran's attacks in Erbil today and offers condolences to the families of those who were killed," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "We (America) oppose Iran's reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq's stability," added Miller.
