The US State Department has reported that Wednesday’s attack on Iraqi Kurdistan killed an American citizen, though it declined to offer details, beyond that no troops or officials were killed.
The unnamed citizen was one of 13 people killed in Iraqi attacks along the Iran-Iraq border. Iran accused the targets of fueling unrest within Iran. The US shot down an Iranian drone near Irbil, at request of the Iraqi government.
The US accused Iran of threatening stability with the attack, while analysts mostly believe Iran is trying to shift the focus on its protests toward external matters.
Iran was already having trouble with its Kurdish minority, firing into the area at times. There’s no obvious connection between that and the current protests, which are about hjiab rules, but give Iran an excuse to go after somebody they’re already mad at.
The US Consulate in Irbil issued a statement warning Americans not to travel to Iraq for the time being.
I am surprised they haven’t said this person was a US tourist…!
Usually when Iran strikes, they must have spotted the U.S. intel rat amongst the Kurds.