ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Erbil has been struck by over 500 missiles and drones since the onset of the Iran war, causing casualties and material damage, its governor said on Thursday, as Kurdish officials press Baghdad for stronger protection of the Kurdistan Region. 

The Kurdistan Region has come under near-daily attacks by pro-Iran militias, with Kurdish authorities repeatedly urging Baghdad to rein them in. 

“To date, more than 500 attacks have been carried out against Erbil,” Omed Khoshnaw said during a presser on Thursday, adding that they caused “human casualties and material damage,” including harm to the Kurdistan Region’s economic infrastructure.

Khoshnaw called on Baghdad to take “a serious stance” to protect the country’s sovereignty, while describing the attacks on the Kurdistan Region as unjustified.

He said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has told Baghdad and Tehran the region is not part of the conflict and remains committed to stability, while urging compensation for residents affected by the attacks.

Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the attacks on the Kurdistan Region have resulted in at least 14 deaths and 93 injuries, according to data obtained by Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) on Sunday. 

According to the CPT data, the attacks were mainly carried out using drones, accounting for 359 incidents, while missiles made up 104 of the strikes.
 
The majority of the attacks targeted Erbil province, which recorded 370 strikes. Sulaimani followed with 90, Duhok with 11, and Halabja recorded the fewest at three.

One of the most high-profile incidents occurred when the residence of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Duhok and a Peshmerga base in Erbil’s Soran district were targeted in an Iranian strike, killing six Kurdish fighters and prompting an outpour of international sympathy and condemnation.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of pro-Iran Iraqi militias linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on Erbil.
 
Kurdish authorities have continuously condemned the attacks launched by the Iraqi militias on the Region, while calling on Baghdad to control the “outlaw groups” and prevent the recurrence of strikes.