ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Qatar's foreign ministry strongly condemned the latest Iranian strikes on the Kurdistan Region as the Iran-US war escalates. Several people were killed in Tehran's drone attacks on the Region on Friday.
The ministry described the attacks as a "blatant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly Republic of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as a flagrant breach of the principles of international law."
It also reiterated its "full solidarity" with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
The overnight statement comes hours after Iran struck several locations in the Kurdistan Region's Erbil and Sulaimani provinces. Nine members of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group, Komala, were killed in the strikes.
The Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said 13 drones had been intercepted by the US-led global coalition forces in the Kurdish capital without causing casualties.
In Sulaimani, the strikes targeted Tasluja, north of the city's Jalal Talabani. No civilian casualties were reported in the province.
Earlier in the day, the Komala Toilers of Kurdistan said at least nine of its members were killed and several others were injured in an attack involving six missiles on its base in Sulaimani province.
Abdullah Azarbar, a member of Komala's politburo, blamed Tehran for the attack, telling Rudaw, "We were bombarded by Iran with six powerful and large missiles."
The Kurdistan Region's presidency and government condemned the attacks in two separate statements.
“We strongly condemn the attacks on the Kurdistan Region,” the Region's Presidency said in a statement, calling the targeting and “the resumption of violence” a “dangerous escalation and a blatant violation” of sovereignty.
The Kurdish government called on Tehran to end the attacks and urged Baghdad and the international community to help stop the "violations."
The latest Iranian attacks on the Kurdistan Region come amid a renewed exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said early Saturday that it ended a seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran late Friday. Iran's army said it targeted US military sites in Kuwait and Jordan in the 14th phase of its Operation Sa'eqa in response to US strikes on Iran.
