Drone targets office of Iraqi Kurdistan's PM, no casualties reported
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Aug 17 - Two drones targeted the office of the Kurdistan Regional Government's prime minister and the home of the region's intelligence chief in northern Iraq on Monday but there were no reports of any casualties, the KRG security agency said.
The attack was launched from Iranian territory, it said in a statement, without clarifying whether the drones had hit their target. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from any group for the attack.
Iran and Iran-backed armed groups have repeatedly accused Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of harbouring Iranian Kurdish opposition groups that Tehran regards as a security threat. Iraqi Kurdish authorities deny allowing their territory to be used to threaten neighbouring countries.
"I condemn these reckless and unacceptable attacks in the strongest terms," Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on X, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the region's security and stability.
Barzani cited an investigation by the Kurdistan Counter Terrorism Unit.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigative committee to identify the source of the attack, according to Iraq’s state news agency.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi emphasized to Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in a phone call Monday that there is no information indicating that the attack originated from within Iranian territory, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Araqchi also condemned the attack on his X account. He added: “Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors. We protected our Kurdish friends against Saddam and DAESH, and we're thankful for security they've provided on our border,” using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Iraq's Kurdistan region has been repeatedly targeted by drones and rockets. A four-day wave of drone attacks on its oilfields in July 2025 halted nearly half of the region's crude production, with security officials pointing to Iran-backed militias as the likely perpetrators.
In April 2024, a drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field, one of the largest in the Kurdistan region, killed four Yemeni workers, injured two others and forced the suspension of gas supplies to regional power plants. REUTERS
