KRI’s Interior Minister calls for protection of foreign missions and Coalition forces in Iraq

Shafaq News / The Interior Minister of Kurdistan Region (KRI), Rebar Ahmad, urged the federal government on Sunday to provide protection to foreign diplomatic missions and the Global Coalition forces against attacks carried out by armed groups.

Ahmad stated that these attacks contradict international and local conventions in Iraq, urging Baghdad to fulfill its duty by ensuring the necessary protection for these missions.

He emphasized the necessity of confronting these armed groups targeting the Coalition forces present in Iraqi territories as per the request of the federal government.

The minister stressed, "We condemn these attacks as they pose a threat to the security and stability of KRI and Iraq as a whole."

It is noteworthy that the US embassy in the Green Zone in the heart of Baghdad was targeted by several rockets in the early hours of Friday, December 8th, causing no human casualties.

This attack is the first since factions allied with Iran began launching drone and rocket attacks against US forces and the Global Coalition in Iraq and Syria in mid-October, coinciding with Israel's war against Hamas after its attack on October 7th.

Furthermore, armed factions in Iraq have claimed responsibility for over 70 similar attacks against US forces since October 17th due to Washington's support for Israel in its war against Gaza.

These attacks, carried out by drones or rockets, have resulted in 60 casualties among US forces, according to the Pentagon.

The attacks paused during a week-long ceasefire between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel but resumed following the end of that ceasefire in early December.

Moreover, late last November, US strikes targeted fighters from Iran-backed factions in Iraq twice in response to the ongoing attacks. Additionally, Washington struck three times in Syria.

Approximately 900 US soldiers are stationed in Syria and 2500 in Iraq on a mission aimed at advising local forces and assisting in preventing the resurgence of ISIS after it seized vast areas in Syria and Iraq in 2014 before its defeat.