Missiles fall near main building of Kurdistan 24

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On March 13, at 1:00 AM a number of missiles fell near the main building of Kurdistan 24 and near the new US consulate, causing heavy damage to Kurdistan 24’s building. However, no employees or citizens were injured in the incident.

“More than three explosions heard in Erbil tonight, Erbil security forces are investigating the incident and updates will be available shortly,” tweeted Lawk Ghafuri, the Head of Foreign Media Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers.

Pictures show damage to Kurdistan 24 office in Erbil after missile attack nearby. pic.twitter.com/v7fyKdHh5J

— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) March 13, 2022

“Investigating are still ongoing regarding tonight’s incident, and there is no human casualties until this moment. More updates will be available shortly,” he added later.

Ghafuri in a follow-up tweet clarified that "tonight’s multiple attacks in Erbil was conducted by missiles, and none of the missiles hit the new US consulate which is still under construction in Erbil, but areas around the compound was hit by the missiles."

The management of Kurdistan 24 said in a public statement that the attack caused the channel to stop its broadcasts for a few minutes. “We will assure the audience and viewers that we will continue to work and continue our national message.”

“We will continue broadcasting and spreading the truth despite substantial damage to our equipment.”

“From here, we thank all the parties and parties that have asked for the safety of the Kurdistan Staff 24, whether by sending the message or visiting us.”

Kurdistan Region Health Minister Saman Barzinji visited the Kurdistan 24 channel in a solidarity visit after the attack.

Nawzad Hadi, adviser to the president of Kurdistan Region, visited Kurdistan 24 and condemned the attack.

"There are a multitude of potential reasons (for the Erbil attack), but the most likely is that the Iranians see Erbil as a hub for its opponents in the region to plan and conduct attacks against Iran and its interests," Nicholas Heras, deputy director of the Human Security Unit at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, told Kurdistan 24.

"Erbil is a useful target because there are important U.S.-and other regional partner-assets located in the city, it is easily and quickly struck from Iran or from Iraq and Syria, and attacking it sends a message to the Americans and their partners to back off from activities that the Iranian leadership views as a threat."

This is a developing story …

Last update 5:10 am Erbil time.