ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Tuesday strongly condemned “destructive attacks” carried out by “outlawed Iraqi groups” against the Kurdistan Region during a high-level Peshmerga meeting, holding Baghdad responsible for stopping the attacks.

​​The Kurdistan Region has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the war by both the Iranian military and pro-Iran militia groups inside Iraq, who cite the presence of US military bases as their rationale.

Barzani on Tuesday held a high-level military and security meeting to review the latest security developments and the implications of the ongoing conflict for the Kurdistan Region.

He strongly condemned the “destructive attacks carried out by outlawed Iraqi groups using drones and rockets against the Kurdistan Region,” stressing that “the Iraqi federal government bears responsibility for fulfilling its duty to prevent such attacks,” according to a Kurdistan Region Presidency statement. 

Barzani added that Baghdad should “identify and hold accountable those who carry them out,” noting that “these assaults constitute a clear violation of national sovereignty and a threat to overall stability.”

He reaffirmed that the Kurdistan Region will under no circumstances become involved in the conflicts, while adding that preserving the country’s stability must remain the top priority.

Several areas in Erbil province, including Erbil International Airport, the Harir airbase, the UAE Consulate General, civil institutions, hotels, and residential areas, have been targeted by pro-Iranian groups inside Iraq.

The Kurdistan Region’s city of Sulaimani has also been targeted by drone strikes. 

Kurdish authorities have condemned the attacks on numerous occasions.

President Masoud Barzani has warned that the Kurdistan Region’s “patience also has limits,” and stated that “this warmongering and disruption of the Kurdistan Region's stability and citizens' security by those groups cannot and must not continue.”

On Tuesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) called on Baghdad to prevent “outlaw extremist groups” from targeting the Region.

Groups operating under the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella of pro-Iran armed factions within Iraq, have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks on Erbil. 

The war between the US and Israel against Iran has seen the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials. 

Iran has retaliated, and the conflict has spilled over into regional countries, with Iraq and the Gulf regularly being targeted by Iranian strikes under the pretext of them housing US bases and interests.