ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Baghdad committee visited the Kurdistan Region on Saturday as part of its investigation into recent drone attacks, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji told Rudaw.
"A technical committee came to the Kurdistan Region this morning. Their job is to follow up and investigate the recent drone attacks," Araji said.
There were nearly 20 drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region in the past month. One of the primary targets was oil infrastructure. The latest incident was on Wednesday when an explosive-laden drone crashed but did not explode near a village in the Makhmour district of Erbil province.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has blamed Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) - charges strongly denied by Baghdad.
"After completing the investigations, all members of the joint committee will present their recommendations to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces," Araji said.
Araji met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Saturday. He “reviewed details of his recent visit to the Kurdistan Region, leading a specialized investigation delegation, to investigate the attacks that targeted oil fields,” the foreign ministry said.
Hussein said it was important to identify those responsible for the attacks and to preserve Iraq’s energy security.
The Kurdistan Region has lost nearly 200,000 barrels of oil production due to the drone attacks, Aziz Ahmad, deputy chief of staff to KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said in mid-July.
The KRG has criticized the federal government for failing to prevent or investigate the drone threats.
