Unidentified drone targets border guard unit in Batifa

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An unidentified drone targeted a border guard unit in the Batifa district of Zakho, resulting in no casualties, the Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism group said on Wednesday.

The drone targeted the headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the Border Guard in Batifa district, which is part of the Zakho Administration. 

The Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) also said that the drone was launched from an area between Dukare and Barushka Saadouni villages, known to be frequented by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters.

Later on Wednesday, a group calling itself Liwa Ahrar al-Iraq (LAI), a pro-Iranian armed group, in a statement claimed responsibility for the attack.

In the statement, the pro-Iranian group said that the 'final chance' offered last month to expel foreign military from the country does not extend to the Turkish army presence in Iraq.

According to the Washington Institute, there is credible evidence to suggest LAI has ties to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), or Hashd al-Shaabi, as the group is commonly referred to.