Security forces in Kirkuk uncover 5 rockets pointed at Peshmerga position
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces in Kirkuk province on Monday discovered five Grad rockets aimed at the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces on the front, a security source in the area and the head of the district said.
Iraq’s Security Media Cell said five Grad rockets and rocket launchers were "set to launch" in Pirde (Altun Kupri), north of Kirkuk city in the oil-rich province.
They were being dealt with by explosives experts, the military media service said.
Photographs sent to Kurdistan 24 showed five rockets positioned to fire. Markings on a close-up of one rocket appeared to confirm it was a 122mm Grad type, which has a range of 40 km.
In early March, the Peshmerga front in Pirde came under rocket attack by “unknown” forces, which resulted in no casualties among the Kurdish forces.
Similar rockets were fired at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdistan Region’s capital in September 2020. Afterwards, the Kurdistan Region's security forces said the rockets were fired from the border of Sheikh Amir village in Nineveh province, blaming the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) and saying they targeted international forces at the military annex at the Erbil airport.
Terrorist groups including ISIS have carried out numerous attacks on the Kurdistan Region from Kirkuk and other areas disputed by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government and federal Iraq. Senior KRG officials have repeatedly said the groups remain a serious threat to security in the region.
Iraq's Joint Operations Command said on May 22 that it will establish a joint security coordination center with the Peshmerga in Kirkuk to address the security gap, following the success of a similar joint coordination room in Diyala.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, recently ordered the implementation of an agreement between the Iraqi Army and Peshmerga in the disputed territories.