SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has ordered the formation of a committee to investigate a drone attack on Erbil airport, the Iraqi and Kurdish interior ministries said in a joint statement.
An explosives-laden drone targeted a base hosting U.S.-led Coalition troops at Erbil airport on Wednesday night, without causing casualties.
Coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said the drone landed on a storage hanger at Erbil airport base and confirmed there were no injuries, according to AP.
“By the order of Mustafa al-Kadhimi, an investigative committee has been formed to find and detain those who are responsible for the rocket attack on Erbil airport,” the joint statement read.
“The last night’s terrorist attacks carried out in Erbil and Mosul aimed to undermine Iraq’s security and sow discord,” the ministries said.
Shortly before the attack in Erbil, at least two rockets landed on and near a base to the west of the city that hosts Turkish forces. A Turkish soldier was killed and a woman was wounded in the attack.
“While we condemn these criminal acts, we confirm that these attacks come in a desperate attempt to strike the positive developments in the relationship between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government,” the ministry added, according to state news agency INA.
“Coordination and assistance between both sides will continue to ensure security and safety of citizens and to confront attempts to destabilize security,” they stated.
Earlier on Thursday, Kadhimi ordered an “immediate investigation” into the attacks on Erbil airport and the base in Bashiqa, east of Mosul.
Spokesman of the U.S. State Department Ned Price said early on Thursday that the United States was “outraged” by the attacks in Iraq.
“The Iraqi people have suffered for far too long from this kind of violence and violation of their sovereignty,” Price said in a tweet.
U.N. Envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said the attacks were another example of “reckless attempts to inflame tensions and threat Iraq’s stability”.
“We condemn these acts of violence and urge the Federal and Kurdistan governments to act swiftly and in unison to prevent further escalation,” she said in a tweet.
France also denounced the attacks in a statement on Thursday, saying “it is important that the Iraqi government and the regional authorities of Kurdistan deepen their cooperation to identify the perpetrators and ensure the security of all Iraqis.”
