The Iraqi-Dutch family that was hit by an Iranian attack last week was completely surprised by the missiles. “Suddenly the ceiling came down,” says mother Hana Jutyar, who also has Dutch nationality. She lost her husband and her 11-month-old baby in the attack. Hana and one of her sons moved in.
The three-missile attack took place last Monday in the Iraqi city of Erbil and was claimed by Iran. According to that country, the attack was aimed at ‘an Israeli spy center in the Kurdish part of Iraq’. Relatives of the affected family strongly deny that there was any espionage for Israel.
The attack appears to be aimed at the husband of the Dutch Hana, the Iraqi Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee. He lived with his family in a villa in Erbil, they had just returned from a holiday in Dubai. The multimillionaire was killed in the attack.
“My husband and eldest son were downstairs in the house, they received a friend,” Hana says in a video distributed by Kurdish media last weekend. “I was watching TV upstairs. Two of my other children were in their rooms, with their nanny. And suddenly I saw the ceiling coming down. Pieces kept falling. In panic I called on God.”
Injured to her face
During the attack, Hana was injured in (among other things) her face. She tells her story from a hospital bed, surrounded by Iraqi security officials. It is unclear whether she knew at that moment that her husband and daughter had died.
The woman had no idea her home and family could be targeted. “It was an ordinary day. I had just put the kids to bed. There were no signs that anything would happen.”
It only became known on Friday that the deceased baby and two of the injured also have Dutch nationality. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruins Slot then reported that she had contacted her Iranian colleague ‘to obtain clarification about the death of a Dutch child’.
A family member of the Dutch-Kurdish family already denied to this site that there was espionage. “Peshraw was in real estate and security. The Iranian claims are baseless. It is an excuse that is for Iranian domestic use. The murder is a violation of his sovereignty and that of the entire world. There is no excuse that can justify the murder of Peshraw and his baby.”
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides consular assistance to the affected family, but for privacy reasons it does not want to elaborate further on what this assistance consists of. The ministry also does not want to elaborate further on the ties the family has with the Netherlands.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.