SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States embassy to Iraq on Thursday condemned last night’s drone attack that had been carried out on Erbil in a statement.
“The United States condemns last night’s attack in Erbil, which resulted in civilian injuries and property damage,” the statement said.
“There is no place in Iraq, including in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, for indiscriminate attacks like these, which undermine the authority of the state and threaten the safety and security of the Iraqi people,” it said.
“The United States remains committed to working with our Iraqi and IKR partners toward our shared goal of a secure, stable, prosperous, and democratic Iraq” the statement further added.
Late on Wednesday, a bomb-laden drone hit the Erbil-Primam highway, three civilians were wounded and dozens of vehicles were damaged according to officials.
Following the drone attack, The Kurdistan Region Security Council on Thursday blamed ‘Hezbollah’ in a statement.
“The drone was bound to Erbil by Hezbollah militias in the border of ‘Pirde’ subdistrict, Kirkuk province,” it said.
The Security Council further added that Iraq’s sovereignty along with the Kurdistan Region and its people must be respected.
‘Hezbollah Battalion’ is a pro-Iran armed group and part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) backed by Iran that operating in Iraq’s territory since 2014 to defeat ISIS with other Iraqi military forces.
Erbil has been hit several times by both drone and Missile strikes, it usually targets the United States compounds and the coalition bases that host U.S. troops in the city.
Recently on March, 12 missiles were fired by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards at a residential area in Erbil city, the (IRGC) had claimed the responsibility officially, and said they were targeting a strategic Israeli base in the city, while the Kurdistan Region government had officially rejected the presence of any Israeli compound in the region.
