In rare joint statement, KRG and Iraqi government reaffirm cooperation in face of drone attack

Security officials from the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga ministry with their Iraqi counterparts at the Joint Operation Command in Baghdad in 2020. (Photo: Iraqi government)
Security officials from the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga ministry with their Iraqi counterparts at the Joint Operation Command in Baghdad in 2020. (Photo: Iraqi government)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s interior ministry and its federal Iraqi counterpart together issued a statement Thursday stressing their continued coordination despite efforts to jeopardize their cooperation, following a drone attack on the Kurdish capital the previous day. 

Wednesday’s attack on the US-led coalition’s base at Erbil International Airport caused only material damages but marks the first time an explosive-packed drone has been used against the military installation in the Kurdistan Region.

In a rare joint statement, the Ministry of Interior of the KRG and Iraq's Ministry of Interior condemned the attack, saying “such violations are failed attempts to jeopardize the positively developed relations between the two governments,” particularly security coordination at the top level.

The ministries added that investigations are underway to find the perpetrators.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has called for the expulsion from Kurdistan’s borders of all armed groups that do not operate under the official command of the Iraqi security forces.

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly