“I am certain that targeting the Peshmerga headquarters was a mistake. The first and last target at this time is the American forces occupying Iraq only. The Resistance does not target the Peshmerga forces,” Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati, head of the Badr Organization in Kirkuk, told Rudaw on Saturday, referring to the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
Last Saturday, two explosive-laden drones targeted a Peshmerga base in Pirmam, Erbil province. There were no casualties.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said it holds the federal government responsible for the “cowardly attacks” of government-linked “outlaw” groups. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called it a “terrorist attack” and said the KRG has “a right to defend our people.”
No group has claimed responsibility.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has claimed most of the over 100 drone and rocket attacks carried out against United States interests in Syria and Iraq since mid-October, in response to American support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Badr Organization is a pro-Iran party led by Hadi al-Amiri. It has a strong representation in the federal cabinet.
Bayati noted that Iraqi and Peshmerga forces both fought against Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath regime and were victims of its oppression.
“I do not believe that any of the Peshmerga bases have been targeted by the Resistance,” he said.
Ali al-Bandawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament's security and defense committee, told Rudaw on Saturday that the Peshmerga could have been targeted because of their proximity to US troops.
There are no publicly known American forces based in Pirmam.
The Badr Organization and the Resistance have shared interests and objectives in Iraq, most notably opposition to the US.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Friday said his government is taking the first step to ending American presence in the country.
Masoud Barzani, leader of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), separately received Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji and Falih al-Fayadh, head of the Hashd al-Shaabi Commission, in Erbil following the Pirmam incident.
They discussed “security threats” and Fayadh condemned the drone attack on the Peshmerga, a statement from Barzani’s office noted.
Erbil’s international airport and Harir air base to the northeast of the city are among frequent targets of militia groups who claim to target US troops who are based near the airport but have recently left Harir.
