Kurdish leaders warn pro-Iran groups against continued attacks on Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Leaders of the Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties on Sunday warned they will no longer tolerate ongoing drone and rocket attacks by Iraq-based pro-Iran militia groups on the Region. They also called on Baghdad to take “serious” steps to stop the assaults, which were triggered by the start of the US-Israel war against Iran.

US and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign against Iran on February 28, killing many of the country’s leaders and commanders, including long-time Spiritual Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Iran and its proxies in Iraq have carried out drone, rocket and missile attacks against US bases, civilian infrastructure and the positions of the Iranian Kurdish political parties. 

Kurdish officials and leaders had largely refrained from making public statements about the war, emphasizing the Kurdistan Region’s neutral position and rejecting any attempt to drag it into the conflict.

However, overnight attacks by these groups in Erbil and Sulaimani provinces that killed two people and wounded several others further angered Kurdish leaders. The targeted sites included a Peshmerga base. 

“It is very surprising that some groups and parties, under the name of ‘resistance’ and with baseless excuses and slogans, allow themselves to attack civilian locations, the economic infrastructure of the Kurdistan Region, and Peshmerga bases. This is warmongering and a clear assault on the rights of citizens and on the stability and security of the Kurdistan Region,” President Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and former president of the Kurdistan Region, said in a statement posted by his office on Facebook. The statement followed his attendance at the mourning ceremony of a security member killed during the overnight drone attack on Erbil International Airport. 

“Everyone must understand that restraint also has its limits. The Peshmerga have never accepted oppression or aggression from any side. This warmongering and the undermining of the Kurdistan Region’s stability and the security of its citizens by these groups cannot and must not continue,” he warned, calling on the federal government to take “serious action and set clear limits on these violations, because the continuation of such warmongering will have negative consequences.”

The KDP is the dominant party in Erbil and Duhok provinces and holds most of the top positions in the Kurdistan Region.

In a separate statement, Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which rules Sulaimani province, said if Baghdad fails to stop attacks on Kurdistan Region “then we will deal with them ourselves.”

“The Kurdistan Region has endured several nights of hardship… In the past few days, we have pursued all our diplomatic efforts, engaging at the highest levels with the leaders of Iran, the United States, and Turkey, with the aim of safeguarding Kurdistan in this situation,” he noted. 

The latest attack by Iran and its proxies was late Sunday afternoon, when a drone hit a house in Erbil’s northeastern district of Choman, which borders Iran. 

Ahmed Barzan, the mayor of Choman, told Rudaw that the drone did not explode, and therefore there were no casualties or material damage. He added that the relevant authorities have arrived at the scene to investigate the incident.

Several Iraq-based pro-Iran militia groups, as well as Tehran, have claimed responsibility for attacks on the Kurdistan Region. Most of the assaults have been carried out using one-way attack drones. Kurdish authorities say most of the projectiles fired toward Erbil have been intercepted by US air defense systems.

This is not the first time Iran’s proxies in Iraq have attacked the Kurdistan Region. The groups have previously carried out similar assaults on the Region’s energy infrastructure, often when they sought to send a message to Kurdish authorities, including during periods of tension between Erbil and Baghdad.

Kurdish officials have accused Baghdad of failing to control the groups, some of which are affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shaabi, which has been integrated into the Iraqi state.

The groups have not limited their attacks to the Kurdistan Region. They have also targeted the US embassy in Baghdad several times since the start of the war with Iran.