ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani told parliament on Monday that his government knows who is responsible for Wednesday's rocket attack on the outskirts of Erbil.
"We quickly began investigating the event, and we have gotten very good results from the investigation. We know who is responsible for launching these rockets,” Barzani said in response to questions from Kurdistan Parliament members on the attack.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “will not allow anyone to harm the security of the Kurdistan Region," Barzani said.
“We have shared this intelligence with the Iraqi government. They immediately decided to take the required measures, and some measures have already been taken,” he added.
Several rockets landed close to the village of Gazna, near the Kurdistan Region capital's airport on Wednesday evening.
The KRG's Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said that six rockets were launched toward Erbil International Airport from the village of Sheikh Amir in Nineveh province by militants from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi).
The PMF dismissed the claims, saying the rockets fired towards Erbil International Airport were launched from an “uninhabited area” outside of their control.
Iraqi officials have issued conflicting statements on the search for those responsible for the attack.
Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesperson for Iraqi Joint Operations Command, told Sky News Arabia on October 1 that the perpetrators of the attack had been detained.
"The investigation continues with them as per the information we have,” Khafaji said. He declined to provide information about the detainees, saying the findings of the investigation would be shared once completed.
But on the same day, Governor of Nineveh Najim al-Jibouri told Rudaw that "local government has not been informed of any detentions made following the attack.”
“The committee that Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi established to investigate the incident is still investigating,” Jibouri said.
