Missiles landing near US consulate in Iraq launched from Iran: Reports
Mar 13, 2022
Washington [US], March 13 : Amid the ongoing US-Iran talks in Vienna to arrive at a new nuclear deal, a number of rockets launched from Iran landed late on Saturday night near the US consulate in Iraq's Erbil city, media reports said.
A US defence official said that as many as 12 missiles were launched at the Northern city from neighbouring Iran, The Washington Post reported.
The city of Irbil is the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
There was no damage at any US government facility and there was no indication the target was the consulate building, which is new and currently unoccupied, the report said citing another official.
Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan's foreign media office, said none of the missiles hit the US facility but the areas around the compound had been hit by the missiles. The Iraqi health ministry also informed that the incident did not result in any casualties.
The U.S. condemned what it called an "outrageous attack against Iraqi sovereignty and display of violence," the report said quoting an official.
The attack came as negotiations in Vienna over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal hit a "pause" over Russian demands about sanctions targeting Moscow over its war on Ukraine, the report said.
