Dutch baby among victims of Iranian missile attack on Erbil

A Dutch child was among the victims of an Iranian missile strike on the city of Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdish region earlier this week, caretaker foreign minister Hanke Bruins Slot has said on social media.

The foreign affairs ministry has not revealed any further details about the child, who reportedly was less than one year old. Bruins Slot has asked her Iranian counterpart for an explanation and summoned the Iranian ambassador to a meeting.

Bruins Slot, who condemned the attacks, said the consulate is helping the family.

The attack, one of several by the Iranian paramilitary organisation Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on targets in Iraq and Syria, hit Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, killing four civilians and wounding six.

According to the IRGC, the town was home to Israeli secret service Mossad spy headquarters.

Later it emerged that the child was 11 months old and had Dutch nationality but lived in Dubai. Her father is a Kurdish businessman who was also killed in the bombing. Her brother, who was injured, and mother, are also Dutch.

The man, named by local media as Peshraw Dizayee, lived in Dubai but had a  home in Erbil. The boy is now being treated in Dubai.