KRG Denies Drone Strike on ‘Israeli Base’ in Erbil
The Kurdistan Regional Government firmly denied Iranian reports claiming a drone strike targeted an Israeli base in Erbil, calling the allegations baseless. It confirmed a drone fell in a deserted area but said no Israeli facility exists, blaming PMF-linked groups for provocative actions.
By Kamaran Aziz
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday firmly rejected Iranian state media reports alleging that a drone attack had targeted an Israeli-affiliated base in the Kurdistan Region’s capital, Erbil. The Ministry of Interior issued a public statement dismissing the claims as entirely false and “far from the truth.”
The statement, released on Friday, directly responded to reports circulated by “certain official electronic media outlets in Iran,” which claimed that an Israeli base in Erbil had been struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) the night before. The Ministry categorically denied the existence of any Israeli military or intelligence installations in the region.
“There is no Israeli base in Kurdistan, nor has any such operation been carried out,” the KRG’s Ministry of Interior said in the statement, emphasizing that the reports were “baseless.”
According to the Ministry, a drone did indeed fall in an uninhabited desert area near Erbil on the night in question. However, it clarified that the incident bore no connection to any Israeli facility, as no such facilities exist in the region.
The Ministry went on to suggest that the drone incident was part of a broader pattern of provocations by armed groups. “These types of attacks are carried out by some groups affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) for provocative purposes,” the statement said, calling on the federal government in Baghdad to take “legal measures against the perpetrators” and “set limits on such destructive actions.”
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a coalition of mostly Shiite paramilitary groups that make up part of Iraq’s security apparatus, have long been accused by both regional and international observers of operating outside state control and launching unauthorized attacks, often using baseless pretexts.
Erbil has previously been the target of drone and missile strikes claimed by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), most notably in 2022 and again in 2024, both incidents condemned by the KRG and the Iraqi federal government.
Friday’s strong rebuttal from the KRG comes amid broader regional instability involving Israel and Iran, including recent military confrontations and the “12-day war” over Iran’s nuclear program.
