The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has denied any involvement in the fire incidents in the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk. The PUK has actively cooperated with Iraqi intelligence to bring the perpetrators to justice, the party’s spokesperson told reporters on Monday.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, PUK spokesperson Saadi Ahmed Pira denied any involvement of the PUK and its forces in the fire incidents in Erbil, Duhok, and Kirkuk.

“As the PUK, our government team, and PUK leader Bafel Talabani, we condemn such acts,” he said. “We categorically reject these allegations against the PUK.”

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri, with three suspects in front of him, stated that the suspects were responsible for several fires that occurred around the end of 2023 and early 2024, which engulfed several marketplaces in Erbil, Kirkuk, and Duhok and that they were members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

In a phone call with The New Region, the Director General of the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry Diwan, Hemin Mirany, identified one of the suspects as Hunar Fakhruldin Ahmed, whom he identified as a member of the PUK’s 70th brigade. 

Mirany also identified another suspect as Mohammed Najat Hassan, adding that he was a member of the PUK’s counterterrorism units.

Addressing Mirany’s statements, Pira elaborated that said person was expelled from the counterterrorism forces months ago.

“Iraqi intelligence told us that a counterterrorism soldier was arrested and confessed to have received $800 in return for such an act around eight to nine months ago,” Pira said. “At the time, the counterterrorism units cut all of that person’s benefits and cooperated with the Iraqi government in the investigation.”

Pira further reiterated that the suspect had not received any money from the PUK and had been expelled from the party’s counterterrorism forces, calling for an investigation to find out who had paid these individuals. 

The PUK’s 70th brigade of the Peshmerga forces shared a similar sentiment with Pira.

“We want to clarify to the public that our forces and the Kurdistan Region’s forces have no relation to the incidents in Erbil, Duhok, and Kirkuk,” read a statement from the force. 

“We reiterate that these people people have not carried out these acts upon our orders or the orders of any of our forces, and had no affiliation with our forces,” the statement added, calling for the perpetrators to be taken to court for the crimes.

A massive fire broke out in Erbil’s historic Grand Bazaar, one of the city’s oldest markets in May. The fire followed earlier incidents in the renowned Langa bazaar (thrift market) in Erbil in April and February. 

A similar incident happened in Kirkuk's historic Grand Bazaar, where a number of shops and warehouses were burned in May and a blaze swept through Duhok’s Chale Bazaar in April, wiping out dozens of shops.

The PKK, acused of orchestrating the fire incidents, denied the allegations on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in February expressed concern over the alleged PUK support for the PKK, claiming that his government has repeatedly brought up the issue and given warnings.

“We may be tolerant of many issues, but if the issue is our survival and national security, we will close the doors of tolerance and do whatever is necessary,” Erdogan told reporters.

The Turkish government blames the PUK for having strong relations with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its military backbone, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara labels to be the Syrian wing of the PKK despite the group on several occasions claiming that they only share ideology with the PKK.

The PUK has on several occasions denied facilitating PKK activities in the Kurdistan Region.