A drone attack on Erbil targeted a Mossad intelligence agency hit squad, Iran's FARS news agency reported on Thursday.
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A UAV exploded on a road in Iraq's northern city of Erbil on Wednesday, injuring three people and damaging several cars, according to a statement by Kurdistan's counterterrorism service.
The explosive drone detonated on Pirmam road in Erbil's outskirts at 9:35 p.m. Iraq time, the statement said.
Two security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the drone was shot down.
A security source said earlier that a drone attack targeted the US consulate but did not give further details.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi told Kurdish Prime Minister Masoud Barzani in a phone call that Baghdad will cooperate with Erbil to hold the perpetrators accountable, according to a statement.
"Bomb-laden drone hit Erbil-Pirmam road, causing civilian injuries and damage," the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq said on Twitter. "Iraq does not need self-proclaimed armed arbiters. Asserting State authority is essential. If the perpetrators are known, call them out and hold them to account."
#BREAKING: Explosion occurred on Erbil-Pirmam road.
Several vehicles were damaged in the blast. pic.twitter.com/76KVczPdHy— Sarwan Wllatzheri (@SarwanBarzani_) June 8, 2022
The attack on Erbil could be in response to reports of assassinations and mysterious deaths of senior Revolutionary Guard officials in Iran in recent weeks.
Last month, Iran Revolutionary Guards artillery fire hit an area north of Erbil, targeting what Iranian state television described as terrorist bases.
In March, the Guards attacked the capital of the Kurdish region with a dozen ballistic missiles in an unprecedented assault on the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps later said it targeted "a strategic center for conspiracy and mischiefs of the Zionists."
Iraqi officials later said no evidence had been found of the Mossad maintaining a permanent base in Erbil.
At least three other attacks have targeted oil refineries in Erbil since the March attack, but no group has claimed responsibility for them.
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