US citizen killed in Iranian attack in Iraq

(CNN) — A U.S. citizen was killed in an Iranian rocket attack in Iraqi Kurdistan Wednesday, State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said Thursday.

Patel did not offer further details about the individual, citing privacy considerations. Patel declined to say what the U.S. response would be to the attack and citizen’s death.

In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned “Iran’s use of ballistic missiles and drone attacks against the Iraqi Kurdistan Region as an unjustified violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“We are also aware of reports of civilian casualties and deplore any loss of life caused by today’s attack,” he said. “Moreover, we further condemn comments from the government of Iran threatening additional attacks against Iraq.”

“We stand with the people and government of Iraq in the face of these brazen attacks on their sovereignty,” he said.

CNN reported Wednesday that the United States scrambled an F-15 jet to shoot down an Iranian drone that appeared to be heading towards U.S. forces in Erbil, Iraq, on Wednesday, according to a U.S. official.

The United States launched the jet after tracking dozens of Iranian short range ballistic missiles headed for Kurdish positions in northern Iraq Wednesday, according to two other U.S. officials. The initial assessment is the launches originated inside Iran, the officials said.