US, European countries slam attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan
BERLIN: France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States condemned atacks this week in Iraqi Kurdistan “in the strongest terms” in a joint statement on Friday.
“Together, our governments will support the government of Iraq’s investigation into the atacks to ensure that those responsible will be held accountable,” the Western powers said.
A series of atacks in Iraq this week illustrates the increasingly dangerous tangle of local and regional rivalries confronting the country’s security in an election year, Iraqi security and government officials said.
The violence appears linked to militias seeking to help ally Iran oppose Western adversaries in a tussle for influence playing out across the Middle East, as well as to growing domestic strains head of elections in October, they said.
Drone and rocket atacks in northern Iraq by pro-iran groups indicated that militias are expanding the arsenal they are prepared to deploy against US forces stationed in the country.
The strikes also for the first time killed a Turkish soldier, and a rare car bomb blast in Baghdad aterwards showed that security forces are struggling to keep a lid on local violence ater years of relative calm in the capital.
Rivalry between Iran and the United States remains the biggest destabilising factor, despite the departure of former president Donald Trump and his tough rhetoric and fresh talks on Iran’s nuclear programme among world powers, the officials said.
Wednesday’s atack on US forces at Erbil International Airport was the first time an explosivesladen drone was used against a US target in Erbil, an Iraqi security official said.
“Drone use is a worrying development. We’re seeing a change in the way ( US) targets in the Kurdistan region are hit, as a message that these groups can choose the time and place of their assaults without being stopped,” the official said.
The security official, an Iraqi military officer and a government official all blamed militia groups supported by Iran for the atack. They said it was likely retaliation for a recent atack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, widely believed to be carried out by US ally Israel. Israel has not formally commented.