ISTANBUL
Six Peshmerga fighters were killed, and 30 others were injured in an Iranian ballistic missile strike on military positions in Erbil in northern Iraq, the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said Tuesday.
“This morning, the headquarters of the 1st Region’s 7th Infantry Division and the 5th Infantry Division of the Peshmerga forces in Erbil’s Soran district were targeted by six Iranian ballistic missiles,” the ministry said in a statement.
It called the attack a “violation of the principles of good neighborliness” and “a hostile and treacherous act.”
“We did not expect such a cowardly response to the Kurdish region’s peaceful stance. However, betrayal and oppression are short-lived, and the will for peace will prevail,” the ministry said.
“We once again call on all parties to avoid conflict and chaos in the Kurdish region, and we urge the federal government, the international community and all our friends not to remain silent in the face of these violations and to put an end to such reckless aggression,” it added.
Nechirvan Barzani, head of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), condemned the Iranian attack as a “hostile act.”
“We strongly condemn the Iranian missile attack this morning that targeted the headquarters of the Peshmerga forces in Soran, Erbil,” Barzani said in a statement.
“The Kurdish region has always been a factor of peace and stability. We are committed to a policy of non-involvement in conflicts and avoiding them, and we do not pose a threat to the security of neighboring countries,” Barzani said.
Barzani called on the Iraqi federal government and the international community “to intensify their efforts to prevent the recurrence of such violations.”
Regional escalation has continued to flare since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Iraq, Jordan, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.