Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani speaks to reporters on the sidelines of the funeral for a married couple who were tragically killed in a drone attack in northwest Erbil on April 7, 2026. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday held the federal government in Baghdad directly responsible for failing to take “practical steps” to prevent the deadly drone and missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region, emphasizing that whether Iraqi authorities “do not want” or “do not have the capability” to confront the perpetrators, it remains their duty to rein them in.
Prime Minister Barzani’s remarks were made on the sidelines of a funeral ceremony he attended for a married couple who were tragically killed hours earlier in a drone attack at their home in the village of Zargezawi, northwest of Erbil, which Kurdish officials said was “launched from Iran.”
The Kurdish premier stated that Iraqi authorities "know very well" who is behind the attacks on the Kurdistan Region, noting that those responsible "move around freely" and are both "funded by the government and authorized [by it]."
Whether Baghdad "does not want" or "does not have the capability" to confront the perpetrators, the responsibility to rein them in "falls on the federal government,” PM Barzani asserted.
The stern remarks by the Kurdish premier come as the Kurdistan Region woke up on Tuesday to the tragic news of the deaths of 39-year-old Moussa Anwar and 35-year-old Mazhda Asaad, who were killed in their sleep at their home in Zargezawi, leaving behind their two daughters, three-year-old Malin and five-year-old Dilin.
The Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) detailed that the attack was carried out by “an explosive-laden drone” that “was launched from Iran.”
The CTD strongly condemned the attack as “a violation of international law” and “a war crime,” emphasizing that it condemns such assaults in “the strongest possible terms.”
While no group has claimed Tuesday’s deadly drone attack, shadow Iraqi armed groups aligned with the Tehran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’ have previously declared responsibility for many of the recent strikes on the Region, framing them as part of the purported retaliation for the joint US-Israeli military campaign launched against Iran in late February.
The tragic incident has sent shockwaves across the Kurdistan Region and prompted widespread reactions from Kurdish leaders, who have denounced it as a “terrorist attack.”
RELATED: Kurdish leaders condemn drone attack in Erbil that killed a married couple
Last updated at 6:46 pm.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment