CNN –
The US launched an F-15 jet on Wednesday to shoot down an Iranian drone that appeared to be heading towards US forces in Erbil, Iraq, a US official told CNN.
US forces shot down the plane on Wednesday after tracking dozens of Iranian short-range ballistic missiles aimed at Kurdish positions in northern Iraq, according to two other US officials. The initial assessment is that the launches originated in Iran, officials said.
“This was a major incident,” one of the officials said.
“At approximately 14:10 local time, US forces shot down an Iranian Mojer-6 unmanned aerial vehicle headed in the direction of Erbil as it appeared to pose a threat to USCENTCOM forces in the area,” he said the US Central Command, which oversees the US. military presence in the Middle East, he said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, nine people were killed, including civilians, after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted Kurdish separatist groups in northern Iraq, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government. [KRG] Health Minister Saman Barzanji told CNN.
The IRGC used missiles and drones to target the offices of Kurdish groups, designated by Iran as terrorist organizations, Tasnim said, citing the IRGC.
US Central Command condemned IRGC’s “unprovoked attack” in Iraq.
“These indiscriminate attacks threaten innocent lives and risk the region’s hard-fought stability,” US Central Command spokesman Col. Joe Buccino said in the statement.
No US forces were injured or killed as a result of the IRGC attacks, and there was no damage to US equipment, US Central Command said.
Iran has targeted militants based in the Kurdish region of Iraq in the past, but attacks have increased since the weekend. Tehran accuses Kurdish groups of destabilizing the country by supporting protesters who have rallied against Iranian authorities following the death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, according to Fars, a government-aligned news agency.
Both US officials emphasized, at this point, the belief that the Iranians were trying to harm Kurdish forces to divert attention from the ongoing protests in Iran. Protests have wreaked havoc in western parts of Iran, home to many Kurds outraged by Amini’s death.
The launch of such a large number of ballistic missiles raises concerns about Iran’s long-term intentions and possible escalation, the officials said.