ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc head Shakhawan Abdullah on Sunday called on the Iraqi parliament to hold a session to discuss the recent drone attack targeting Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s office in Erbil.
On Monday, Kurdistan Region counterterrorism forces said that two Iranian explosive-laden drones targeted Prime Minister Barzani’s office and the residence of the Region’s Security and Intelligence (Parastin) chief in Erbil province. The attacks caused no casualties and purportedly entailed the use of the advanced Hadid-110 unmanned aerial systems.
“These repeated attacks on state institutions require a stance from the Iraqi Parliament to speak about the repeated attacks, whether on the office of the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region or the military and security institutions,” Abdullah said during a Sunday parliamentary session.
“We have submitted a request to add an item to the Council's agenda to discuss the attacks,” he said, adding that the request has been “supported by more than 100 lawmakers” from various blocs.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned the attack after the incident and ordered the formation of an investigative committee to establish the circumstances regarding the strikes.
Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said Tuesday that Zaidi was directly supervising the investigation into the attack on Barzani’s office, describing it as a “violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty.
The Kurdistan Region, despite maintaining a neutral stance, has come under hundreds of drone and missile attacks targeting civilian infrastructure, energy facilities, and Peshmerga forces throughout the US-Iran conflict that began in late February.
On Thursday, Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed said Erbil was in contact with Iran regarding the attack, adding that authorities were awaiting an "official explanation.”
Following the incident and Erbil’s accusations of Iranian involvement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein during a phone call Monday that "nothing justifies the reckless attack,” while denying Iranian involvement and suggesting the attack was a false-flag operation.