Peshmerga Ministry denies receiving air defence system

ERBIL — The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs denied on Wednesday that it had received an air defence system, a week after the last coalition forces left the Kurdistan Region.

“No official source at the Ministry of Peshmerga has made any statement in this regard, and this news is completely untrue and we categorically deny it,” the ministry said, adding that “no air defense system of any kind has been delivered.” Kurdistan24 had reported earlier on Wednesday, citing a ministry source, that a system had arrived, and later deleted the report.

The ministry warned two days before the withdrawal that the Region would be left without air defence after facing more than 1,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks during the regional fighting, and said protecting its airspace was primarily the federal government’s responsibility. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani raised the same concern, according to his office. Coalition aircraft shot down 10 bomb-laden drones over Erbil governorate on Sept. 2.

Iraq says it expects air defence systems from South Korea, Turkey and the United States, without giving dates, and Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Oct. 1 that the government would begin buying a complete system, without naming a supplier, cost or timetable. The last U.S. and coalition forces left Erbil Air Base on Sept. 30.