Iraqi forces dismantle 107-millimeter rockets they mentioned had been discovered close to Kirkuk in northern Iraq on March 29. The Iraqi Ministry of Protection mentioned it thwarted an assault that used to be going to make use of the guns. (Iraqi Ministry of Protection)
The house of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Area of Iraq, used to be centered in a drone assault on March 28. Tomorrow, Reuters, bringing up safety resources, reported, “Air defenses shot down a drone near the residence of the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish ruling party, Masoud Barzani,” the previous Kurdish president and Nechirvan’s uncle, in Erbil. Iranian-backed militias and Iran have closely centered the northern Iraqi area since US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran started on February 28. In line with the Rudaw Media Community, there were greater than 500 drone and missile assaults at the Kurdistan Area right through the battle.
Assaults inside of Iraq have escalated within the closing week of March. Six Kurdish Peshmerga had been killed in an Iranian missile strike close to Erbil on March 24. As well as, an Antonov-132 army plane of the Iraqi Air Power used to be broken in an assault on an Iraqi air base close to Baghdad Global Airport within the early hours of March 30. The Iraqi Ministry of Protection referred to as the incident a “cowardly criminal act” in a publish on X and reported that 122-millimeter rockets, a commonplace form of Iranian-made rocket, had been used within the assault.
Iran has additionally threatened to focus on universities within the Center East, together with in Iraq, after it mentioned that its Isfahan College of Generation have been hit with airstrikes. “Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target the American Universities in Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, along with other universities perceived to be associated with the United States,” a safety alert of the USA Embassy in Baghdad on March 29 said.
“Iran has specifically threatened American universities across the Middle East. Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist militias have conducted widespread attacks on U.S. citizens, targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), and Iraqi institutions and civilian targets,” the embassy added.
International locations around the Center East condemned the assaults at the Kurdish leaders. “The Foreign Ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation and denunciation of the targeting of the residences of the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nechirvan Barzani and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Masoud Barzani, as well as all attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” Saudi Arabia’s International Ministry mentioned on March 30. The Kurdistan Area Presidency’s workplace additionally mentioned that the Kingdom of Jordan had condemned the assault on Nechirvan Barzani’s house.
“The United States unequivocally and forcefully condemns the despicable terrorist attacks by Iran’s terrorist militia proxies in Iraq on the private residence of Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani,” the USA Division of State mentioned in a March 28 observation. The UN added to the rising checklist of condemnations.
Iraqi Top Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani spoke to Barzani within the wake of the assault and mentioned that Baghdad would examine.
The day after the assault on Barzani’s house, Iraq’s protection ministry claimed that its forces had thwarted a rocket assault on Kirkuk within the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Area. “A joint force from the Eleventh Infantry Brigade, affiliated with the Kirkuk Operations Command, was able on Sunday, March 29, 2026, to thwart an attempt to launch Katyusha-type rockets, after seizing a launch platform containing (2) launch bases and (4) rockets that were prepared for immediate launch,” the ministry mentioned in a observation. The rockets had been labelled “107mm” and seem very similar to the ones utilized by Iranian-backed militias up to now.
The invention of the rockets got here two days after the USA and Iraq introduced the status quo of a joint Top Joint Coordination Committee to make stronger cooperation between the 2 nations. “Both sides emphasized their commitment to keeping Iraq outside the scope of the ongoing military conflict in the region, fully respecting its sovereignty, and supporting Iraq in ensuring its territory, airspace, and territorial waters cannot be used to threaten Iraq, or neighboring and regional states,” the USA Embassy in Baghdad mentioned in a observation on March 27.
