ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Saturday said it was “unacceptable” for Erbil to accuse the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) of being complicit in a string of drone attacks in the Kurdistan Region.
“The accusation issued by the Ministry of Interior in the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] against an official Iraqi security institution is unacceptable, condemned, and impermissible under any pretext, especially since it was issued in the absence of evidence,” the prime minister’s spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said in a statement.
On Friday, the KRG’s Interior Ministry blamed the PMF for recent drone attacks that it said were carried out “with the intention of creating chaos.” It called on Baghdad to bring the perpetrators to account.
Baghdad said that such accusations risk undermining the country’s stability and instead urged “cooperation and coordination through official channels.”
Multiple explosive-laden drones have crashed or been downed in the Kurdistan Region since a US-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel went into effect on June 24.
Most recently, a drone was intercepted near Erbil International Airport on Thursday, but “did not cause any casualties or material damage,” said the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD), which is part of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC).
Iraqi militia groups have denied involvement and blamed the Islamic State (ISIS).
During the 12-day Iran-Israel war, numerous drones and rockets flew through the airspace of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Several of them fell or were intercepted.
“The accusation issued by the Ministry of Interior in the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] against an official Iraqi security institution is unacceptable, condemned, and impermissible under any pretext, especially since it was issued in the absence of evidence,” the prime minister’s spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said in a statement.
On Friday, the KRG’s Interior Ministry blamed the PMF for recent drone attacks that it said were carried out “with the intention of creating chaos.” It called on Baghdad to bring the perpetrators to account.
Baghdad said that such accusations risk undermining the country’s stability and instead urged “cooperation and coordination through official channels.”
Multiple explosive-laden drones have crashed or been downed in the Kurdistan Region since a US-brokered ceasefire between Iran and Israel went into effect on June 24.
Most recently, a drone was intercepted near Erbil International Airport on Thursday, but “did not cause any casualties or material damage,” said the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD), which is part of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC).
Iraqi militia groups have denied involvement and blamed the Islamic State (ISIS).
During the 12-day Iran-Israel war, numerous drones and rockets flew through the airspace of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Several of them fell or were intercepted.
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