SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani agreed on Friday that attacks on U.S.-led Coalition troops represent an “egregious violation” of Iraqi sovereignty.
Blinken spoke by telephone with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) prime minister on Friday, according to the U.S. State Department and the KRG.
Both officials discussed continued attacks on Iraqi, U.S. and Coalition forces, including the April 14 drone attack on Erbil airport, according to the state department.
An explosives-laden drone targeted a base hosting U.S.-led Coalition troops at Erbil airport on April 14. Coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said the drone landed on a storage hanger at Erbil airport base and confirmed there were no injuries.
“The Secretary and Prime Minister agreed that these attacks represent an egregious violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” the state department said in a statement.
Separately, the KRG said Blinken and Barzani both condemned rocket and drone attacks against bases housing U.S. and Coalition troops in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.
They also discussed Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections on October 10, reforms in the Kurdistan Region, the approval of the federal budget law for 2021, and the situation in Sinjar, the KRG said in a statement.
Blinken “emphasized the importance of free and fair Iraqi parliamentary elections in October, and he encouraged continued close cooperation between Baghdad and the KRG on issues of mutual concern,” the U.S. State Department said.
