- Turkey carries out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said they attacked the “spy headquarters” of Israel in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The military group said “one of the main Mossad espionage headquarters” in the region had been “destroyed with ballistic missiles”.
In addition to the strikes Northeast of Kurdistan’s capital Erbil, the guards said they “fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations” in Iran, including the Islamic State.
Iraq has now condemned Iran’s “aggression” on Erbil and said the attack caused civilian casualties in residential areas.
It said it would take all legal measures, including filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Concerns have been raised that the conflict between Israel and Hamas could escalate and spread through the Middle East.
Iran is the biggest backer of Hamas, and is also aligned with Lebanon’s Hezbollah (which it founded in 1982) and Yemen’s Houthis.
To further show its displeasure, Iraq has summoned the Iranian chargé d’affaires in Baghdad to protest against attacks on a number of areas in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan on Monday, the State news agency reported on Tuesday.
Additionally, France accused Iran on Tuesday of violating Iraq’s sovereignty after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have struck a purported Israeli “spy headquarters” in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
“Such acts represent blatant, unacceptable and worrying violations of Iraq’s sovereignty and an attack on its stability and security, as well as that of Kurdistan within it,” France’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “They contribute to the escalation of regional tensions and must stop.”
Iraq recalled on Tuesday its ambassador from Tehran to discuss the recent Iranian attack on the city of Erbil, according to a statement by the country’s Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, Ankara has said it destroyed 23 targets in overnight airstrikes on Kurdish militants in Northern Iraq and Syria.
In a further escalation of conflict south of Turkey’s border, it struck targets in northern Syria and the Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil regions of northern Iraq.
“Twenty-three targets were destroyed, including caves, shelters, tunnels, ammunition warehouses, supply materials and facilities used by the terrorist organisation,” Turkey’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
It said many militants had been “neutralised” – a term usually used to mean killed.
Turkey has been launching attacks after nine Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq on Friday.
The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the UK, the US and the EU.
@Sky News