by Kyle Morris , Dom Calicchio
The missile strike did not result in any American casualties, officials said
A series of missiles were fired Sunday from Iran in the direction of the U.S. consulate in Erbil, Iraq, a senior U.S. official told Fox News.
The missiles numbered as many as 12, The Associated Press reported.
None of the missiles made contact with the consulate, the U.S. official told Fox News.
All U.S. personnel were accounted for at the consulate complex and no casualties were reported near the unmanned consulate in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
"There is no damage or casualties at any U.S. Government facility," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News. "The incident is being investigated by the government of Iraq and the Kurdish Regional Government and we refer you to them for comment. We condemn this outrageous attack and display of violence."
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A national security official told Fox News there was no indication the missiles were intended for U.S. facilities.
U.S. Army soldiers stand outside their armored vehicle on a joint base with Iraqi army south of Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (Associated Press)
The strike represented an escalation in hostilities between Iran and the U.S., which have been played out mostly inside Iraq, the AP reported.
Soon after the attack, satellite broadcast channel Kurdistan24, whose headquarters is located near the consulate, aired images of shattered glass and scattered debris on the floor of its studio, the AP reported.
The missile strike came several days after Iran said it would respond to an Israeli strike near Damascus, Syria, that resulted in the deaths of two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, according to the AP.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported on Sunday's strike in Iraq but did not say where the missiles originated, the AP reported.
But one Iraqi official told the AP the missiles were fired from Iran and were Iranian-made Fateh-110s – and the strike likely represented a response to the Damascus attack.
Nuclear talks on ‘pause’
The Sunday strike also came as negotiations in Vienna, on the potential revival of the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, hit a "pause" because of Russia's demands regarding economic sanctions it faces because of its invasion of Ukraine, according to the AP.
The U.S.military has shifted to a non-combat role in Iraq, but Iran and its allies still want the U.S. presence there to end, Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie said in December, according to the AP.
U.S. troops remaining in Iraq provide air support and other aid as the Iraqi military fights Islamic State forces, the report said.
The last time missiles were fired from inside Iran toward a U.S. site in Iraq was January 2020, after a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad's airport killed Iranian Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an official told Fox News.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, Peter Doocy, Mark Meredith and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/missile-strike-near-us-consulate-in-erbil-iraq-no-american-casualties-reported
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