Drone attack on Iraqi Kurdistan military base

ARBIL — Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday said two drones struck a military base used by the autonomous region's security forces, blaming the attack on "outlaws" funded by Baghdad. 

The attack on the base in Arbil province was carried out late Saturday and caused some damage but no casualties, the regional government said in a statement. 

The region's Peshmerga security forces are allies of US-led anti-jihadist coalition forces deployed in Iraq.

There was no immediate claim for the attack.

But since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, there has been a surge in attacks on US forces and anti-jihadist coalition forces in Iraq.

The majority have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose formation of Iran-linked armed groups that oppose US support for Israel in the Gaza war. 

A tally by US military officials has counted 106 attacks against its troops in Iraq and Syria since October 17.

The prime minister of Kurdistan, Masrour Barzani, said he was “deeply alarmed” by Saturday’s drone attack. 

“I condemn the outlaws and their collaborators in the strongest terms possible,” he said on X, formerly Twitter. 

The authorities in Arbil said these groups “are funded by the federal government” in Baghdad, with which Iraqi Kurdistan has strained relations. 

The government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani is backed by pro-Tehran parties.