ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry said on Friday that the Region was targeted in several overnight drone strikes at different locations, all of which were intercepted, while calling for an end to the attacks, which it described as carried out by “terrorist actors,” amid peace talks aiming to end the war. 

The New Region has learned that about four drones were intercepted from late Thursday into early Friday hours across several provinces in the Kurdistan Region, as fighter jets were heard overhead.

In an overnight series of attacks, “a number of drone strikes were carried out against various locations in the Kurdistan Region, which were subsequently intercepted and brought down,” the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Interior Ministry said Friday.

The “terrorists and malicious actors” continue to launch attacks as the Kurdistan Region and its people were expecting a return to normalcy, the statement added. It reaffirmed the KRG’s position from the outset of “not being party to, nor intending to be part of, any conflict or tension.”

“We emphasize our commitment to supporting peace and stability and call upon all parties to cease these attacks and to no longer target the security and stability of Kurdistan and the interests of its citizens,” the KRG added.

The reaching of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran has led to a lull in attacks in Iraq, with the Iran-aligned Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Shiite militias, on Wednesday saying that it too will refrain from offensive action during the period.

Although tensions have risen over Lebanon’s inclusion in the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, officials remain divided on whether Beirut is part of the deal, with Washington saying Lebanon is excluded while Tehran insists it is included.

As several countries in the region faced overnight attacks, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Friday that its forces have “absolutely made no launches towards any country during the ceasefire hours so far,” denying reports of attacks on countries south of the Persian Gulf.

On Thursday, the US summoned Iraq’s ambassador to Washington to condemn a series of attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups in the country, accusing "some elements associated with the Iraqi government" of providing operational cover to such factions and urging Baghdad to dismantle them.

Following the outbreak of war, pro-Iran factions, many of whom are officially under the auspices of the Iraqi state via the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), began to extensively target US interests in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

The United States warned that the ongoing violence is negatively affecting relations between Washington and Baghdad.