| 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Kurdish–Iranian conflict, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, and the Iranian-led attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria | |
| Type | Missile and drone attack |
| Locations | Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq 36°18′18″N44°07′56″E / 36.30500°N 44.13222°E [lower-alpha 1] Taltita, Idlib Governorate, Syria 36°06′32″N36°33′13″E / 36.10889°N 36.55361°E [lower-alpha 1] |
| Planned by | Iranian government |
| Target | Headquarters of Israel's Mossad in Iraq (Iranian claim, rejected by Iraq and Israel) and terrorist strongholds in Syria |
| Date | 15 January 2024 11:36 p.m. (UTC+03:00) [3] |
| Executed by | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Casualties | 4 civilians killed 17 civilians injured |
On 15 January 2024, Iran carried out a series of aerial and drone strikes within Iraq and Syria, claiming that it had targeted the regional headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and several strongholds of terrorist groups in response to the Kerman bombings on 3 January, for which the Islamic State took responsibility. [4] [5] The city of Erbil, which is the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region, was the target of 11 of the 15 total missiles that were fired. The remaining four missiles were directed at Syria's Idlib Governorate, targeting areas held by the Syrian opposition. [6] [7] In Erbil itself, the Iranian attack killed four civilians and injured 17 others. [8] Iran's claims of having targeted the Israeli presence in Kurdistan and terrorist groups in Syria were rejected by the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdish government, both of which condemned the attack. [9]
On 3 January 2024 a commemorative ceremony marking the assassination of Qasem Soleimani at his grave in Kerman, Iran, was attacked by two bomb explosions. The attacks killed at least 94 people, and injured 284 others. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attacks. [10] Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, pledged a "hard response" to the attack and declared that those responsible "will be the definite target of repression and just punishment from now on". [11]
The attack in Erbil targeted the residence of Peshraw Dizayee, the CEO of Empire World, a real estate development company, [3] killing him along with his daughter, their housekeeper, and businessman Karam Mikhail. [1] Erbil International Airport was temporarily closed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) quickly took responsibility. [12] In addition, coalition forces shot down three drones near the airport. [13] Tasnim News Agency revealed that four ballistic missiles launched from Kermanshah province and seven others fired from West Azarbaijan province were used during the attack, [4] [14] during which Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles were reportedly used. [15]
The IRGC claimed it also struck Islamic State forces in northwestern Syria with four missiles, specifically targeting the perpetrators of the 2024 Kerman bombings on 3 January. [16] [10] Tasnim News Agency reported that the IRGC Aerospace Force launched four Kheibar Shekan medium-range ballistic missiles from Darkhoveyn District in Khuzestan province at midnight, traveling a distance of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) to hit targets near Taltita in Idlib Governorate. [2] [4]
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Iran was unlikely to have conducted its attack in Syria using medium-range ballistic missiles given on the limited scale of damage. Instead, the observatory stated that the attack was likely carried out by Iranian-backed groups situated in Aleppo Governorate in Syria, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the impact zone. [17]
A day after the attack in Iraq and Syria, Iran carried out a similar series of missile strikes in Pakistan, claiming that it had targeted Jaish ul-Adl, a Baloch militant group that had claimed responsibility for the 2019 Khash–Zahedan suicide bombing in Iran. [18] [19] These strikes were condemned by the Pakistani government, which expelled the Iranian ambassador from Islamabad and stated that the strikes had killed two children in Balochistan, subsequently vowing to respond to Iran's violation of Pakistani airspace. [20]
An Iraqi government source said that it was not informed in advance of the attack and that an emergency meeting would be held. He described the attack as a flagrant violation of the Iranian–Iraqi agreement. Moreover, the Kurdistan Region called on the Iraqi government and the international community not to remain silent regarding the attack on Erbil.[ citation needed ] Following the attack, Iraq recalled its ambassador in Tehran for consultations and summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Baghdad. [21] [22]
The IRGC said that the attack was a response to the Israeli assassination of "resistance elements". [23]
The attacks were condemned by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and the Netherlands. [24] Pope Francis condemned the attacks, stating "good relations between neighbors are not built with such actions, but with dialogue and cooperation". [25]
NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg denounced the attack on Erbil during a conversation with Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. [26] The Arab League and the Arab Parliament condemned the attack, calling it an "assault on Arab National security". [27]
The Fateh-110, also known as NP-110 is an Iranian solid-fueled surface-to-surface ballistic missile produced by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization since 2002. It is single-stage, road-mobile and can carry a high-explosive warhead of up to 500 kg. Four different versions, the Fateh-110A, 110B, 110D-1 and Fateh-E Mobin were developed with varying accuracy. The latest version, first shown to the public in August 2018 reportedly has a range of 300 km is reportedly more accurate than previous versions.
Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been embroiled in tense relations with the U.S. and its allies. Following the hostage crisis, both countries severed relations. Since then, both countries have been involved in numerous direct confrontations, diplomatic incidents, and proxy wars throughout the Middle East, which has caused the tense nature of the relationship between the two to be called an 'international crisis'. Both countries have often accused each other of breaking international law on several occasions. The U.S. has often accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and of illegally maintaining a nuclear program, as well as using strong rhetoric against Israel, of which Iran has questioned its legitimacy and its right to exist while supporting Hamas, an antizionist terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iran has often accused the U.S. of human rights violations and of meddling in their affairs, especially within the Iranian Democracy Movement.
The Iran–PJAK conflict is an armed conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), which began in 2004. The group has carried out numerous attacks in the Kurdistan Province of Iran and provinces of Western Iran. PJAK is closely affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the primary opponent of the Republic of Turkey in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. PJAK has been designated as a terrorist organization by Iran, Japan, Turkey, and the United States.
2016–present clashes in West Iran refers to the ongoing military clashes between Kurdish insurgent party Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which began in April 2016. Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and Komalah expressed their support to the Kurdish cause of PDKI as well, with both clashing with Iranian security forces in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In parallel, a leftist Iranian Kurdish rebel group PJAK resumed military activities against Iran in 2016, following a long period of stalemate.
Mohammad Reza Zahedi was an Iranian military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He previously commanded the Air Force, the Ground Force.
On 18 June 2017, under Operation Laylat al-Qadr, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired six surface-to-surface mid-range ballistic missile from domestic bases targeting ISIL forces in the Syrian Deir ez-Zor Governorate in response to the terrorist attacks in Tehran earlier that month. Next day, the IRGC published aerial videos recorded by the Damascus-based IRGC drones flying over the city during the operation, confirming that the missiles had successfully hit the targets with precision.
On 1 October 2018, under the code name Operation Strike of Muharram, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) conducted missile and drone strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant based east of the Euphrates river in Syria in retaliation to the Ahvaz military parade attack the previous week.
The Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war refers to the Iranian–Israeli standoff in and around Syria during the Syrian conflict. With increasing Iranian involvement in Syria from 2011 onwards, the conflict shifted from a proxy war into a direct confrontation by early 2018.
The 2019 Israeli airstrikes in Iraq began as unidentified drone or aircraft bombings of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) bases in Iraq starting on 19 July 2019. The strikes targeted Iranian proxy groups, based in Iraq, as well as IRGC operatives.
On 8 January 2020, in a military operation code named Operation Martyr Soleimani, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched over 12 ballistic missiles at the al-Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Governorate, western Iraq, as well as another airbase in Erbil, in response to the assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani by a United States drone strike.
The 2021 Erbil rocket attacks occurred when multiple rockets were launched against Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. On 15 February, approximately fourteen rockets were fired from an area south of the city at around 21:30 local time. Three of the rockets directly hit the U.S.-led coalition base near Erbil International Airport, while the other rockets hit residential areas and civilian facilities near the airport. Two people were killed in the attack, and an additional 13 were injured, including an American service member.
Saraya Awliya al-Dam, also referred to by the abbreviation SAD, is a Shi'ite pro-Iran militia based in Iraq. The organization is known for its counter-U.S. operations in Northern Iraq.
The 2022 Erbil missile attacks occurred on 13 March 2022 when multiple ballistic missiles were launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from East Azerbaijan province, Iran, against the city of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Starting on 17 October 2023, and in response to United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war, Iran-backed militias initiated a coordinated series of more than 170 attacks on U.S. military bases and assets in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan. These attacks resulted in injuries to dozens of U.S. service members. In retaliation, the U.S. has launched multiple counterattacks, resulting in the death of over 30 militants including a senior commander of the Nujaba Movement, Mushtaq Talib al-Saidi. In February 2024, following U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, militia attacks against U.S. forces were halted.
Events in the year 2024 in Iran.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella term for Shia Islamist insurgent groups in Iraq which has been described as a generic brand or network.
On 16 January 2024, Iran carried out a series of missile and drone strikes within Pakistan's Balochistan province, claiming that it had targeted the Iranian Baloch militant group Jaish ul-Adl. The incident occurred one day after Iran carried out a similar series of aerial and drone strikes within Iraq and Syria, claiming that it had targeted the regional headquarters of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and several strongholds of terrorist groups in response to the Kerman bombings on 3 January, for which the Islamic State took responsibility. The Pakistani government condemned the attack, stating that Iran had killed two children and calling it an "unprovoked violation" of Pakistan's airspace.
On 16 January 2024, Iran conducted a series of missile strikes in Pakistan, asserting that it had targeted militants of the Baloch separatist group Jaish ul-Adl in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. This attack occurred one day after a similar series of Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, which the Iranian government had stated were in response to the Kerman bombings by the Islamic State on 3 January. Pakistan's government condemned the strikes as an "unprovoked violation" of Pakistani airspace and stated that two children had been killed.
Since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, which has mostly been confined to southern Israel and the Gaza Strip, a number of armed clashes and standoffs have been reported in other parts of the Middle East, particularly involving Shia Islamist militias backed by Iran. There has been speculation that any escalation of these incidents, specifically between Israel and Hezbollah—an Iranian-backed Shia militia which is based in southern Lebanon and which is more powerful than the Lebanese Armed Forces —could bring the entire region into a full-scale military conflict. In addition to the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia—which controls parts of northern Yemen, but is not internationally recognized as the country's government —became directly involved in the conflict by firing missiles at Israeli cities, albeit on a limited scale; the Houthis have since focused more on seizing civilian cargo ships passing through the Red Sea in order to inflict economic losses on Israel and the global economy, evoking American and British airstrikes against Houthi-controlled Yemen. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria have also mounted numerous attacks against American military bases in the region; these confrontations have increasingly escalated tensions between long-time adversaries Iran and the United States, especially after the 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria. In the West Bank, over 100 Palestinians have been killed in armed confrontations with Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers, as violence in the territory increased drastically following the Hamas-led attack on Israel.
On 1 April 2024, an Israeli airstrike destroyed the Iranian consulate annex building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, killing 16 people, including a senior Quds Force commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and seven other IRGC officers. Two civilians were killed in the attack. The airstrike took place during a period of heightened tension between Israel and Iran, and amidst the Israel–Hamas war and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict.
