ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government on Sunday blasted as “baseless lies” a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) statement that accused Baghdad of incompetency when it comes to curtailing militia groups that have carried out numerous drone and rocket attacks on targets in the Kurdistan Region. “The federal government expresses its astonishment at the statement of the spokesperson for the government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which included various unfounded and irresponsible accusations, mixing misleading information and baseless lies,” read a statement from Iraqi government spokesperson Basem al-Awadi. Earlier on Sunday, KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani announced that drones had targeted a Peshmerga base in Erbil. He held the Iraqi government responsible. “We hold those groups and the federal government responsible for these cowardly attacks, because these outlaw groups are armed by and receive salaries from the federal government, and they roam around before the eyes of the Iraqi government, transporting weapons, rockets, and drones and carrying out terrorist attacks on official and military institutions,” read the statement. Numerous recent rocket and drone attacks, mainly on American targets, in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq since October have been attributed to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow militia groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Analysts believe there may be some overlap between the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that are part of Iraq’s security forces. Hawramani accused Baghdad of being “silent and incompetent” in its handling of the militias, and yet “brave to cut the livelihood of the people of Kurdistan,” while using government money to fund the militias. The KRG has blamed Baghdad for delays in paying its civil servants. In response, the Iraqi government spokesperson said Hawramani ignored the “official financial allocations” in his “claim of starving citizens” of the Kurdistan Region. Baghdad has loaned Erbil billions of dinars as it works to find a mechanism to guarantee payment of the Region’s civil servants. The KRG’s statement “represents an unjustifiable interference with the constitutional authorities and their exclusive responsibility to protect the country's sovereignty,” continued Awadi, adding that “rushing to make judgments and issuing imprecise statements” will only complicate matters. “These are unproductive statements that harm the state of political and social stability, and do not align with the government's policy, approach, and national program, in which it committed to defending the interests of Iraqis throughout Iraq without discrimination,” Awadi added. Awadi also said that the Iraqi government has taken “a series of measures” and opened investigations into the recent attacks. The KRG statement said that it expects Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to punish the groups and that Erbil reserves the right to respond to these attacks “at the appropriate time.” It also called on its allies for support. The Saturday night attack on the Peshmerga base caused damage but no casualties. The Kurdistan Region Presidency condemned it and called on the federal government to take “serious measures” in pursuing the perpetrators. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on X that he was “deeply alarmed” by the “terrorist attack on Peshmerga base” in Erbil, condemning the outlaw groups and “their collaborators.” “The federal government should see any attack on the Kurdistan Region as an attack on all of Iraq and respond with the appropriate action. Inaction will continue to embolden the outlaws,” wrote the Kurdish premier. Hours after the KRG statement, Sudani directed Iraqi security services to launch a comprehensive investigation into the drone attack and cooperate with their Kurdish counterparts to pursue the perpetrators of the strike that “violates national sovereignty and attempts to tamper with internal security and stability.” On Sunday evening, a suicide drone was shot down near Erbil airport, which houses US troops, according to the Kurdistan Region counter-terrorism forces.
