ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The European Union and United Kingdom on Monday strongly condemned drone attacks targeting Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s personal office earlier in the day, reiterating their support for the Kurdistan Region.

Kurdish counterterrorism forces on Monday said that two Iranian explosive-laden drones targeted Prime Minister Barzani’s office and the residence of the Region’s security chief in Erbil province. The attacks caused no casualties.

In a letter to the premier, the EU said its delegation to Iraq and member state embassies “strongly condemn the reported attacks on Your office and on the residence of the Head of the KRI’s security agency in Pirmam.”

“It is unacceptable to target state institutions, its officials or diplomatic missions,” the missive, which was signed by EU Ambassador to Iraq Klemens Semtner, stressed.

It added that the attacks aim to undermine Iraq and the Kurdistan Region’s efforts to stay out of the regional conflict, asserting that "bringing all arms under the control of the state" will help to foster stability in the country. 

The letter was addressed to Prime Minister Barzani, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, the latter of whom has issued an end-of-September deadline by which time all militias are expected to hand over their weapons to state forces.

The Kurdistan Region’s leaders have repeatedly stressed Erbil's neutrality in the ongoing regional conflict, yet the Region has been subjected to hundreds of drone strikes since the breakout of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February, with both Iranian forces and pro-Iran Iraqi militias having been responsible.

The British Consulate General in Erbil also condemned the attack, saying, “We will continue to urge de-escalation and to support efforts to protect stability in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”

A host of Kurdish and Iraqi political actors similarly condemned the strikes earlier in the day.

While Iran and Iran-backed armed groups claim the attacks chiefly target US interests in the Kurdistan Region, vital infrastructure has also been struck, including oil and gas facilities and residences of the Region’s leaders.

President Masoud Barzani said in late March that his residence was targeted five times, adding that he "remained silent to avoid provoking public anxiety and anger."

Kurdish security forces have also been the subject of attacks. In late March, six Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers were killed and 30 others injured in an Iranian ballistic missile attack in Erbil’s Soran administration.