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Iraq
Damage from a rocket attack on a base of the PMF’s Brigade 30 near Bartella, Nineveh province is seen in photos shared on PMF-linked Telegram channels on April 15, 2021. Photo: PMF media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) said their base in Nineveh province came under a rocket attack hours after assaults on Erbil’s airport and a base housing Turkish forces near Mosul. The PMF force blamed the attack on the Kurdish Peshmerga, who have denied any involvement.
The headquarters of the PMF’s Brigade 30 was hit by rockets Thursday morning in Jabal Basakhra in the Bartella area, east of Mosul, Iraq’s Security Media Cell reported on its Telegram channel. One militia member was injured and there was some material damage to the base.
Brigade 30 accused the Peshmerga of carrying out the attack and vowed there would be “consequences.”
“We will not be satisfied until we crush arrogance and pride before it indulges in our land," read a statement issued by the group on the messaging app Telegram.
Hours earlier, separate attacks were carried out on Erbil and a Turkish base northeast of Mosul. Erbil International Airport was hit by an explosives-laden drone on Wednesday night. There is a military base housing foreign troops at the airport.
Separately, four rockets were fired at the Zilkan military base, 10 kilometers away from the town of Bashiqa. The base is home to Turkish personnel. One Turkish soldier was killed and two civilians, including a twelve-year-old girl, were injured in the attack.
The attack on the base was launched from territory under the control of the PMF’s Brigade 30, according to Nineveh’s deputy governor Rafaat Smo.
No group has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.
The Peshmerga denied firing rockets at the PMF base. "We have not attacked any forces, including Hashd,” Kamil Harki, deputy commander of the Peshmerga on the Bashiqa front, told Rudaw English, adding that his forces have been ordered to maintain defensive positions only.
Rocket attacks on foreign interests are a frequent occurrence in Iraq and widely blamed on pro-Iran militias within the PMF. A rocket attack on Erbil’s airport in February was carried out in coordination with Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, a PMF militia, according to a confession published by Kurdistan Region’s counter-terror forces. The militias are demanding the United States withdraw from Iraq.
After Wednesday’s attack on Erbil, media affiliated with the militias called Kurds “traitors” and “separatists” and said the Kurdish capital was “not safe anymore… Everything enters Kurdistan with a guarantor, except for the resistance and its attack.”
The interior ministries of the federal and regional governments issued a joint statement condemning the rocket attacks.
"These attacks come in a desperate attempt to undermine the progress in relations between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, especially in terms of high-level security coordination," the statement reads.
Addressing these incidents is the responsibility of the federal government and its institutions, which include the Peshmerga, the statement added.
France issued a statement condemning the attacks in Erbil and Nineveh. “It is important that the Iraqi government and the regional authorities of Kurdistan deepen their cooperation to identify the perpetrators of these aggressions and ensure, more generally, the security of all Iraqis,” read a statement from France’s foreign ministry.
The United States has also condemned the attack and said it would work with its partners in Erbil and Baghdad "to bring the culprits to justice."
In its annual threat assessment report, released last week, the United States’ Director of National Intelligence office expressed concern over these rocket attacks.
“Iranian-backed Shia militias are likely to continue attacks against US targets, such as the February rocket attack on Irbil International Airport, to press US forces to leave if the Iraqi Government does not reach an agreement with Washington on a timetable for withdrawal,” read the report.
The US has agreed to move non-combat troops out of Iraq, though no timeline has been decided.
Additional reporting by Karwan Faidhi Dri
Updated at 11:00 pm
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