Bafel Talabani on attacks: ‘if no action is taken, we will deal with them ourselves’

SULAYMANIYAH — Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Bafel Jalal Talabani issued a warning Sunday to Baghdad, saying the Kurdistan Region has submitted names of individuals and groups carrying out attacks against the region and expects serious action — or it will act on its own.

“We have submitted the names of certain individuals and parties to Baghdad who are carrying out attacks against the Kurdistan Region,” Talabani said in a statement addressed to the people of the Kurdistan Region. “We await Baghdad to take serious steps toward implementing the necessary measures. I know that our friends in Baghdad are making every effort to prevent further turmoil, but if no action is taken, then we will deal with them ourselves.”

The warning came after another night of strikes on the region. Overnight attacks killed two people — Walat Tahir, a 31-year-old security employee at Erbil International Airport who leaves behind two children, and a Komala fighter in a missile strike on Iranian Kurdish opposition bases in Sulaymaniyah governorate.

Three airport workers and two Komala fighters were also wounded. Earlier in the evening, C-RAM defense systems intercepted projectiles over Erbil in a second attack of the night, with smoke rising near the airport. In Sulaymaniyah, separate strikes hit the Peshmerga Forces Command headquarters and sparked a fire near the Titanic Hotel.

The strikes were part of a sustained campaign that has seen the Kurdistan Region hit by more than 110 drone and missile attacks since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began Feb. 28, targeting U.S. interests, Peshmerga positions, hotels, energy infrastructure, Iranian Kurdish opposition group headquarters and civilian areas. Schools and universities across the region have been closed since March 1, with the suspension extended until March 23.

Talabani said the KRG had pursued diplomatic efforts “at the highest levels” with the leaders of Iran, the United States and Turkey to protect the region. He expressed cautious optimism in light of two recent developments: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s announcement Saturday that Tehran would halt attacks on neighboring countries, and Trump’s reported ruling out of sending Iranian Kurdish opposition fighters into Iran — with Iran explicitly threatening to target “all the facilities” of the region if Iranian Kurdish militants were allowed to cross the border.

“Following the remarks of President Trump and President Pezeshkian, we await that the turmoil will be driven away from the Kurdistan Region,” Talabani said.