US Consulate issues security alert, calls on nationals not to travel to Iraq
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US Consulate in Erbil on Thursday issued a security alert advising its nationals to refrain from traveling to Iraq following heavy Iranian drone and missile operations that killed at least 13 people in the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday.
“Consulate General Erbil continues to receive open-source media reports of ongoing drone and rocket attacks by Iranian military forces against Kurdish anti-Iranian entities throughout the Kurdistan region,” read the statement from the consulate, adding that the US government “cannot say with any assurance that these attacks are over.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday showered with ballistic missiles and suicide drones bases of Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of fueling protest across the country. The IRGC has confirmed responsibility for the attacks which, according to an initial tally obtained from the Kurdish health ministry, killed at least 13 people and wounded over 50 others.
The consulate added that the US State Department’s travel advisory to Iraq remains at level four, which advises US citizens to not travel to Iraq due to “terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraq’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens”.
Following the events on Wednesday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, expressed Washington’s solidarity with Iraqi and Kurdish leaders, calling the recent Iranian attacks “an assault on the sovereignty of Iraq and its people.”
“Iran cannot deflect blame from its internal problems and the legitimate grievances of its population with attacks across its borders,” the statement continued, referring to days-long protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini who died in detention on September 16.
Earlier on Wednesday, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price also condemned the “brazen” attacks.
“We are also aware of reports of civilian causalities and deplore any loss of life caused by today’s attack,” Price’s statement read.
US Central Command on Wednesday evening also condemned the attacks, adding that its forces had intercepted an Iranian drone launched towards Erbil earlier in the day, without causing casualties.
“At approximately 2:10 PM local time, US forces brought down an Iranian Mojer-6 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle headed in the direction of Erbil as it appeared as a threat to USCENTCOM forces in the area.”
The UK also urged Iran on Wednesday to put an end to attacks on the Region, also calling them a “violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” its Minister of State for the Middle East, Tariq Ahmad, said.
The German Consulate in Erbil also expressed concern about the attacks, calling them a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
The Consulate General to Erbil of the Netherlands on Thursday condemned the attacks on the Kurdistan Region, saying “These indiscriminatory attacks have led to the loss of innocent lives and the injuries of civilians and journalists”.
Updated at 1:08pm