ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iraqi government must take “swift and decisive” action to confront “extremist groups” who have carried out attacks on Erbil, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Thursday, a day after a pro-Iran militia claimed responsibility for striking the Kurdistan Region’s capital. 

In a statement, the KDP bloc in the Iraqi parliament called on Baghdad to “take swift and decisive action to put an end to these extremist groups operating outside the law, as well as to identify and prosecute those responsible for these attacks, and to prevent any armed force from operating outside the framework of the state.”

The statement came after parts of Erbil, including the Christian district of Ankawa, were targeted by a pro-Iran militia on Wednesday, resulting in heavy material damage to a convent building and a chapel at the Saint Peter and Paul Church. 

Saraya Awliya al-Dam, a pro-Iran Iraqi militia, claimed responsibility for the drone attack hours after, claiming they had targeted an “American occupation base” at the Erbil International Airport, located close to Ankawa.

The militia has recently claimed responsibility for several similar attacks in the vicinity of the Erbil airport as well as the US Consulate General building, with projectiles from intercepted drones and missiles often falling into residential areas, raising security concerns.

The KDP condemned “attacks by militias and armed groups operating outside the law and state authority, which have targeted the Kurdistan Region by striking residential areas and public places, resulting in casualties and harm to innocent citizens.”

“Targeting the cities and peaceful homes of the Kurdistan Region is an outrageous crime, condemned by every measure,” it asserted.

In a speech on Tuesday, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani similarly called on Baghdad to control the “outlaw terrorists,” stressing, “We too cannot remain silent forever.”

Pro-Iran Iraqi militias have repeatedly targeted the Kurdistan Region in recent years under different pretexts. Some of these groups have been officially incorporated into the state security apparatus as part of the Popular Mobilization Movement (PMF).

Energy companies operating in the Region have halted gas production, which has resulted in a substantial power outage. The move was taken as a precautionary measure as the Region’s gas and oil fields have been subject to drone attacks by the Iraqi militias in the past.

The attacks came amid a broader regional conflict, after Iran began a retaliatory campaign across the region following large-scale US and Israeli attacks that resulted in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in addition to several other top Iranian officials.