BAGHDAD, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Saturday condemned an attack targeting the residence of Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani in Duhok province.
In a statement by his media office, al-Sudani expressed his "denunciation and rejection of the blatant attack" in a phone call with Barzani, commending Barzani's commitment to strengthening unity among all Iraqis.
Al-Sudani directed the formation of a joint security and technical team to investigate the incident, identify the perpetrators, and take the necessary legal measures against them, read the statement.
Al-Sudani affirmed the government's commitment to preventing any "outlaw entity, whether domestic, regional, or international," from dragging Iraq into the ongoing conflict in the region.
He reiterated that the government continues to exert coordinated efforts to safeguard Iraq's sovereignty, security, and stability at all levels, within a comprehensive national responsibility.
Meanwhile, a Kurdish security source told Xinhua that the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq was subjected to five drone attacks on Saturday.
In Duhok province, four drones targeted various locations. Air defenses intercepted three of them, while the fourth fell near Barzani's residence, causing some material damage, the source said.
The source further noted that a fifth drone targeted the regional capital, Erbil, but was shot down before reaching its target.
The incident came amid heightened regional tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests across the Middle East. ■
