ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) denied reports that there is an Israeli military base in its territory on Saturday. Following Saturday reports citing an Iran-backed militia leader claiming there is an Israeli military base in Erbil, the KRG sought to paint the information as deliberately untruthful. "Some Iraqi media channels have claimed that there are Israeli military bases in Erbil, supposedly ran by a female general,” read the KRG statement. “The Kurdistan Regional Government totally denies this unfounded news and we believe that this is merely a political propaganda, aiming at distorting the truth for personal gains." On Saturday, the Iraqi news outlet Alhayat News reported that Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba leader Akram al-Kabi said there is an Israeli military base in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil. Kabi’s group is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as Hashd al-Shabi, that were formed to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 and receive support from Iran. Kabi’s reported comments come amidst high tensions between the Jewish state on one side and the Islamic Republic and the PMF on the other. There have been several mysterious blasts at PMF installations in Iraq in July and August, leading some PMF leaders and others to accuse Israel and its ally the US of striking the group. The US and Israel’s issue with the PMF stems from tensions between the two and Iran. Other Iraqi outlets also reported the claims by Kabi. The US has twice denied it was behind the attacks on the PMF. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, has not denied his country attacked the PMF in Iraq, though he has not confirmed it either. Earlier this month, he said “Iran has no immunity anywhere” when asked about the explosions. Netanyahu also told the Israeli outlet kann news that he pledged to protect Israel, and then mentioned Iraq, and he also repeated “Iran has no immunity anywhere” in an official statement, both this month.
