ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The drone attack that targeted the office of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the residence of Erbil's security director drew international condemnation on Monday, including from the US, the UK and the EU, as the Region's counter-terrorism forces said the attack was launched from Iranian territory.
Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Iraq and Syria, said Washington "strongly condemn[s] the attack on our friend and valued Kurdish partner, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his office in Erbil."
"Such aggression against our trusted Kurdish allies is unacceptable and a direct threat to regional stability. We will not condone or tolerate these hostilities," Barrack added in a statement posted on X, reaffirming US support for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in "restoring Iraq's full sovereignty and ensuring all weapons and security forces remain under the authority of the Iraqi state."
Similarly, Klemens Semtner, ambassador of the European Union to Iraq, on behalf of the 27-nation bloc's delegation and the embassies of its member-states, condemned the attack on the Kurdish Premier's office and the residence of Erbil's security agency director.
"These attacks aim at undermining efforts" the governments in Erbil and Baghdad are exerting to "keep the country out of regional conflicts and to find peaceful solutions through diplomatic initiatives," Semtner said, adding that "it is unacceptable to target state institutions, its officials or diplomatic missions."
The senior German diplomat further affirmed that the EU and its member-states will continue to support Iraq and Kurdistan on their "path to a peaceful and prosperous future," including through "bringing all arms under the control of the state.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s diplomatic mission in Erbil on Monday said London “strongly condemns the attack” on the Kurdish Premier’s office, urging de-escalation while affirming that it will continue to “support efforts to protect stability in the Kurdistan Region.”
Earlier in the day, the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD), affiliated with the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), said “two explosive drones of the Hadid-110 type were launched from the Iranian side of the border” toward the Kurdish Premier’s private office and “the residence of the director of the Security Council in Erbil province's Pirmam district.” The attack caused no casualties.
In a statement on X, Prime Minister Barzani slammed the "reckless and unacceptable attacks in the strongest terms," calling them "a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region."
