US official: Targeted building in Erbil served as Israeli training site
US consulate was not targeted by the IRGC, says a senior Biden administration official.
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Iraqi officials visiting the attacked site.
A senior Biden administration official said that the building that was hit by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) in Erbil served as an Israeli training site.
The New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi tweeted that a senior US official, briefed on the Erbil attack, told her colleague Eric Schmitt that the building struck by IRGC ballistic missiles also served as an Israeli training facility.
She added that the official affirmed that the US consulate was not targeted by the IRGC.
On Sunday, more than 10 ballistic missiles hit the vicinity of the Harir base near Erbil Airport in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Erbil.
At the time, sources told Al Mayadeen that the attack was carried out with several ballistic missiles, and they accurately hit a Mossad base.
On its account, the IRGC announced targeting an Israeli "strategic center" in Erbil, stressing that Iran's security is a red line.
On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh commented on the retaliatory missile strike by IRGC on an Israeli Mossad center in Erbil, saying that ran will not accept that one of its neighbors, with whom it has deep relations, will be the focal point of threat.
He added that Iran has repeatedly called on the Iraqi central government to end such situations and not to allow the Iraqi borders to be abused.
Furthermore, sources told Al Mayadeen that "four Israeli officers were killed, in addition to seven wounded, four of whom are in a critical condition," explaining that "the same headquarters was responsible for an intelligence and aggressive operation against Iran in recent times."
Following several accusations that Erbil authorities are hosting Israelis, Iraqi leaders urged investigations into whether Iraqi lands are being used for activities linked to the Israeli Mossad.
