An American citizen was killed on Wednesday during a series of Iran-orchestrated IRGC missile strikes in Iraq, the State Department confirmed on Thursday.
“We can confirm that a U.S. citizen was killed as a result of a rocket attack in the Iraqi Kurdistan region yesterday, but due to privacy considerations I don’t have any further comments to provide,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters during Thursday’s press briefing.
Reports emerged late Wednesday that an American citizen was killed after Iran-backed militants sponsored by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched a spate of IRGC missile attacks in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The State Department criticized the attacks, but would not say if it is taking any punitive measures, such as sanctions, as a result. The IRGC is one of the region’s top terror sponsors and has killed hundreds of Americans over the years.
Iran International, a regional media outlet, posted on Twitter what it said is a picture of the dead American citizen’s passport, which identified the individual as Omer Mahmoudzadeh.
The State Department would not confirm any of these details.
The Iranian bombing took place amid protests that erupted nearly two weeks ago in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died on September 16 three days after being detained in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly breaching Iran’s strict rules on head scarves.
The wave of protests and a crackdown that followed have left scores of demonstrators dead over the past 12 nights.
The IRGC has accused Iraq-based Kurdish groups of “attacking and infiltrating Iran to sow insecurity and riots and spread unrest.”
IRNA said the IRGC targeted bases of a separatist group in the north of Iraq with “precision missiles” and “suicide drones.”
The attacks targeted the political offices of Kurdish parties as well as the Iranian Kurdish refugee camp.
U.S. Central Command said it downed an Iranian drone while it was on its way to Irbil, adding that the drone appeared to pose a threat to U.S. personnel in the region.
Source » iranbriefing