Once a lavish mansion, the sprawling home of an Iraqi Kurdish oil tycoon was laid to waste in a barrage of missiles that struck near a U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil earlier this week.
A house damaged by an Iranian ballistic missile attack is seen in Irbil, Iraq, Sunday, March 23, 2022. Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck early Sunday near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard. –
The consulate was undamaged and no injuries were reported in the attack. The United States said it did not believe it was the target. But the barrage marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.Barzinji pointed to a large crater where once his home office stood as he took The Associated Press on a tour of the ruins on Friday.
His daughter, Ban Karim, recounts how she huddled in the garden with the family dogs as the thundering missiles whizzed overhead. “We do not know if they can see us, we do not know if they are drones, we do not know anything about ballistics, what is going to happen right now,” she said, speaking in English.Observers speculate the timing of the attack was significant as the world’s focus is on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
An Iraqi intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the attack, also rejected claims the house was an Israeli spy center, adding it was a place where diplomats often held social gatherings.