Peregraf — An officer from the Kurdish security forces was killed and three others were injured after a wave of drone attacks targeted the city of Erbil late Saturday night, according to local authorities.
Omed Khoshnaw, governor of Erbil, said that 10 drones were launched toward the city in a single night, but Kurdish air defense systems successfully intercepted the attacks.
“Tonight alone, 10 drone attacks were launched against Erbil. The defense systems were active, and all attacks were intercepted,” Khoshnaw said in a statement.
Despite the interceptions, one drone that had been shot down fell near Erbil International Airport, causing casualties among airport security personnel.
According to the governor, an Asayish officer identified as Wlat Tahir was killed in the incident. Three other security staff members were wounded, one of them critically.
Asayish is the internal security and intelligence force of the Kurdistan Region and is responsible for counterterrorism and the protection of key facilities.
Wave of Attacks on the Kurdistan Region
The strike comes amid an intensifying wave of drone and missile attacks across the Kurdistan Region in recent days.
Security sources say more than 100 drones and missiles have targeted various locations across the region during the past week. The attacks are widely attributed either to Iran or to armed factions aligned with the so-called “Islamic Resistance,” a network of Iran-backed groups operating inside Iraq.
Many of the strikes have targeted areas near energy infrastructure and security installations, raising concerns about the vulnerability of critical facilities in the autonomous region.
KRG Accuses Iraqi Militias
A senior official from the Kurdistan Regional Government sharply criticized the armed groups behind the attacks, accusing them of operating under the authority of the Iraqi state.
Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to the KRG prime minister, said militias responsible for the drone and rocket strikes are closely tied to the federal government in Baghdad.
“Iraqi militias continue to rain rockets and drones on civilian and energy infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region,” Ahmad wrote in a post on the social platform X.
He went further, directly blaming Baghdad for the armed factions.
“Who are these Iraqi militias? They are part of the Iraqi government, paid by the Iraqi government, and armed by the Iraqi government,” he said.
Ahmad called on federal authorities to take decisive action against the groups responsible for the attacks.
“The KRG urges the federal government to get a grip on these state-backed criminal and rogue actors — to have the willpower to confront and arrest them and for once, keep them in prison,” he added.
War Raises Risk of Wider Conflict
The attacks come as the war involving the United States and Israel against Iran enters its ninth day, raising fears that the Kurdistan Region could be pulled deeper into the widening regional confrontation.
Officials in the region have warned that continued drone and missile strikes risk escalating instability and placing civilian areas and critical infrastructure in greater danger.
Authorities in Erbil said security forces remain on high alert as they assess the damage from the latest attacks and prepare for the possibility of further strikes.