ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region’s interior ministry on Saturday accused the Iraqi government of “a kind of cover-up and hiding from responsibility” in the wake of a recent surge in drone attacks across the Region.

“The expectation from the relevant parties of the federal government is that when there are threats against the Kurdistan Region or any other area of Iraq, necessary measures should be taken to reveal the truth and prevent the recurrence of threats and punish the perpetrators. Unfortunately, however, we feel there is a kind of cover-up and hiding from responsibility regarding the security excesses that are carried out against the Kurdistan Region,” said the ministry in a statement.

The ministry lamented that in past years when the Region came under assault from missiles and drones from identifiable sources, joint investigative committees formed with the Iraqi government were ineffective. 

“Unfortunately… neither were the results of the investigations disclosed to the public nor was anyone punished for those clear crimes and illegal acts, and no measures were taken against any party,” the statement said.

A string of aerial attacks by unidentified actors have targeted the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk over the past week, coming days after the declaration of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

A suicide drone was shot down near Erbil International Airport on Thursday evening without resulting in any damage or injuries.

Two drones were shot down in Sulaimani's Tasluja neighborhood late on Tuesday night, reportedly targeting the Peshmerga's Unit 70 headquarters, which is affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

A suicide drone crashed into a camp for internally displaced Yazidis in the northern Zakho district of the Kurdistan Region in the early hours of Tuesday.

A bomb-laden drone crashed in Garmiyan administration’s Koks subdistrict on Thursday without causing damage.

Several drone and rocket attacks have also been reported in different areas of Kirkuk, including the international airport, since Monday.

“These attacks are carried out by some groups belonging to [Popular Mobilization Forces] PMF with the intention of causing chaos and the relevant parties in the federal government should put a limit on these destructive acts and take legal action against the perpetrators,” read an interior ministry statement late Friday.

Many PMF groups are backed by Iran.

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) interior ministry denied reports by Iran-affiliated media claiming that an alleged Israeli base in Erbil was the target of Thursday’s attack, calling them “far from the truth.”

“There are no Israeli bases in Kurdistan and no such operations have been conducted,” read the statement.

An Iraqi military spokesperson on Saturday rejected the KRG statement alleging the involvement of groups linked to the PMF in the recent surge in aerial attacks on the Region, describing the accusations as “unacceptable."

Since 2022, Iran and its proxies have carried out several attacks on the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of targeting bases of Israeli intelligence (Mossad). Erbil has repeatedly denied the presence of Israeli bases in the Region.

“We state that regardless of the political atmosphere and political opinions of the parties, protecting the country's security and preventing the targeting of citizens' lives and the sovereignty and stability of the country is the primary duty of the official institutions of both the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government,” the ministry added in their Saturday statement.