Iraq and Kurdistan interior ministries announce arrests in connection with market fires

NEWSROOM — Iraqi and Kurdish authorities on Monday accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of orchestrating a series of fires in three northern cities and announced the arrest of three suspects, including two with alleged ties to the Kurdistan Region’s security forces in Sulaymaniyah.

The announcement came during a joint press conference by senior officials of the interior ministries of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Baghdad to reveal the arrests linked to this year’s massive market fires in Erbil, Duhok, and Kirkuk.

Miqdad Miri, spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, stated during the conference that the detained individuals had confessed to setting fire to the markets. The three suspects, presented at the conference in yellow detainee uniforms, were accused of involvement in the arson incidents from late 2023 to early 2024. One suspect was arrested in late May while in possession of chemicals used for starting fires in his vehicle.

“The goal is to damage the commercial interests of a country they oppose” and “impact the security and economic situation” in the Kurdistan Region, Miri said. Miri noted that the arrested individuals began their activities in Kirkuk before moving to Erbil.

In late 2023, they set fire to Kirkuk’s Langa market for second-hand goods and later, in early 2024, set another fire at a warehouse near Qushtapa, Erbil. On April 8, 2024, they again targeted the Langa market in Erbil, and on April 1, 2024, they set fire to the Chale market in Duhok. Miri also claimed that in early May, the group set fire to the Qaysari market in Erbil, and previously, they had ignited a blaze near the Nishtiman market.

During the press conference, a senior Kurdistan Interior Ministry official, Hemin Mirany, identified two of the arrested suspects as members of the Peshmerga and the anti-terrorist services in Sulaymaniyah. The security forces in Sulaymaniyah are under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a major party in the Kurdistan Region.

However, in a statement, PUK’s spokesperson Saadi Pira rejected the accusations, saying they were part of an “election campaign,” warning that such accusations would foment the fires of a “civil war.” Pira’s remarks appeared directed at the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party, KRG’s major ruling party. The Kurdistan Region is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in October.

The PKK has also denied the allegations, calling them “baseless” and recalling its role in defending Kurdish and Iraqi cities during the fight against ISIS. The group said it had no “hostility toward the Iraqi state and people,” called for revealing the true perpetrators, and accused the Turkish intelligence services of being behind the fire incidents.

In recent years, both Turkey and the KDP have accused the PUK of extending support to the PKK.

The announcement by the Iraqi and Kurdish interior ministries follows increased Turkish military operations in Kurdistan, which have led to evacuations and damage to agricultural lands, with a significant Turkish military presence now in the Barwari Bala area of Duhok. These operations target the PKK, which is engaged in a long-standing conflict for Kurdish rights in Turkey.

Earlier, an ultranationalist Turkish group had claimed responsibility for several fires in Erbil and Kirkuk. This group asserts that cities including Mosul, Kirkuk, Aleppo, and Erbil are part of Turkey and has praised Turkish military actions against “terrorists” in Northern Iraq and Syria.

AFP contributed to this report