ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Iraqi government has identified the perpetrators of the Erbil rocket attack, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Rudaw on Thursday, adding that they will be treated as terrorists. Multiple rockets hit the Kurdistan Region’s capital city of Erbil in mid-February, killing two people and injuring 13 others. The rockets landed in a residential area, US military base at Erbil International Airport and an animal market. “There has been an investigation and they have reached a conclusion. I do not know when they will publicize it, but the Iraqi government has identified the perpetrators,” Hussein told Rudaw’s Sangar Abdulrahman during an exclusive interview. He added that the government sees the incident as a terrorist attack and the perpetrators will be treated as terrorists. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said during a ceremony in Erbil on Thursday that the investigation is ongoing but “we have been able to identify those behind it.” “We have also obtained many other things,” he added, without elaborating. The attack has been widely condemned by the international community. Hussein said that frequent rocket attacks against international targets in the capital of Baghdad and elsewhere in central and southern Iraq has made it “very difficult” to bring in foreign investment, because it “requires a stable community and situation.” “These attacks will chase out investment and make them not even approach it [in Iraq].” “Investment is related to people and wealth… and wealthy people will not invest in insecure areas,” added the minister, who has Kurdish roots. Hussein also said that Iranian officials have denied to them their alleged involvement in rocket attacks in Iraq. Turkish FM to visit Iraq The foreign minister said that Iraq’s thorny relations with Ankara have somewhat stabilized recently, especially after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s trip to Turkey in mid-December. Hussein said that they have reached an “initial agreement” with Ankara to remove visa requirements for nationals traveling between the countries, adding that the deal might be implemented when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visits Iraq “soon”. The minister also said that Turkey is an “important” country for Iraq, being its largest in volume trading partner - estimated to be more than $10 billion every year. Turkey regularly conducts military operations in the Kurdistan Region’s border areas and territory disputed between Erbil and Baghdad on the grounds of removing Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters from the area. However, this has drawn the ire of the Iraqi government. Ankara launched code-named Operation Claw Eagle-2 in Kurdistan Region’s Mount Gara on February 10, which ended four days later. Thirteen hostages of the PKK - including one from Duhok province - were found dead by the Turkish army. Asked if the Iraqi government was informed in advance of the offensive, Hussein said that he himself was not informed. The PKK is an armed group that has been fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey for decades. The group is presently mostly based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s rugged mountain areas on Turkey’s border. The Pope’s visit Hussein said that recent rocket attacks in Iraq have not affected the much-awaited visit of Pope Francis to Iraq, noting that stringent security measures have been taken to make the unprecedented trip in early March safe. “The Pope represents all the Catholics in the world, but he is also a global figure,” said the minister. “The coming of the Pope means the coming of tens, hundreds of television channels. It is also a sign that Iraqi is safe or safer. The coming of the Pope also shows that Iraq has history.” Asked about the benefits of the visit to Iraq, Hussein replied, “Both the visit and the aftermath of the visit - if we use properly - will bring a lot of benefit to Iraq.” Hussein said that the introduction of Iraq's historic areas to the world is among the benefits of the visit. Most Iraqi officials and religious leaders have welcomed the trip. Budget bill After months of meetings, both Erbil and Baghdad finally agreed on a draft for Iraqi budget bill which stipulates that Iraqi government will pay 12.67 percent of the budget to the Kurdistan Region, in return for daily handover of 250,000 barrels of crude oil. The draft was approved by Iraqi government and sent to the parliament on December 21. The bill has been further reviewed by parliament’s financial committee since then. The KRG has sent delegations to Baghdad several times to reach a beneficial arrangement with the federal government in relation to receiving its share of the budget. “The budget draft is almost done. The government has submitted to the parliament whose financial committee has discussed it. There is only one paragraph left [to be discussed] - the paragraph which is related to the [Kurdistan] Region’s share,” Hussein said. “I believe that Erbil and Baghdad will finally reach an agreement,” he added. He also said that Shiite parties have come up with a suggested paragraph about the Kurdistan Region’s share which has a similar meaning but different wording. “Some Shiite forces have submitted a paragraph - similar to the one already in the budget. They have been discussing it among themselves these days,” said the minister, adding that the KRG is aware of this. “It is not far from the one that already exists in the bill. The issue is not the content, but the format of the text.”
