Launching Ballistic Missiles at Israeli Spy Base, Iran Says Response to Killing of Senior IRGC Commander

Illustration of the IRGC troops. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency/Hossein Zohrevand)

JAKARTA - The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGc) on Monday launched ballistic missiles at what it said was a spy base for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in northern Iraq, and at an "anti-Iran terror group" in Syria, increasing tensions in the Middle East region.

Iranian forces said a midnight missile attack in Iraq destroyed Israel's "one of the main espionage bases" in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in response to an Israeli strike that killed one of the IRGC's senior commanders.

"This headquarters has become a center for developing espionage operations and planning terrorist acts" in the region and Iran, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a statement on Monday, reported by CNN, January 16.

The IRGC also said it attacked several locations in Erbil and claimed it was targeting "sites of Iranian opposition groups."

At least four civilians were killed and six others injured in the attack, according to a statement Tuesday morning by the Kurdistan region's Security Council.

A large villa belonging to a well-known Kurdish businessman was also destroyed, according to a CNN journalist in the area.

"This blatant violation undermines the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq," the Security Council said in its statement, accusing Iran of using baseless pretexts to attack Erbil, a historically stable region they said had never posed a threat to any party.

Also on Monday, the IRGC said it fired ballistic missiles at bases of "anti-Iran terror groups in occupied Syria."

They claimed the targets were involved in two recent bombings in the city of Kerman on the anniversary of the killing of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani that left many people dead and injured.

ISIS claimed responsibility for two deadly blasts near Soleimani's burial site, the deadliest attacks in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

In its statement, the IRGC said it "identified and destroyed a number of commanders and key terror elements, especially Daesh (ISIS), in the occupied Syrian territories by firing a number of ballistic missiles."

An American official said Monday that initial indications of Iran's missile attacks suggest "this was a series of reckless and inappropriate attacks."

"We have seen the reports, and we tracked the missiles, which impacted in northern Iraq and northern Syria. No US personnel or facilities were targeted," the official said.

"Iran claims this is in response to terrorist attacks in Kerman, Iran, and Rask, Iran, with a focus on ISIS. We will continue to assess the situation," he said.

It is known that Iran's attack will further increase fears that Israel's war in Gaza could escalate into a full-scale war in the Middle East which would have serious humanitarian, political and economic consequences.