“The Kurdistan Regional Government and the political parties within it are not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region,” a government spokesperson, Peshawa Hawramani, said in a statement. He added that reports of Iraqi KRG involvement in a plan to arm Kurdish forces are being spread “deliberately and maliciously.”

“On the contrary, we call for peace and stability in the region,” Hawramani added. “We strongly condemn the cowardly attacks targeting the Kurdistan Region, and we call on the federal government and the international community to intervene to stop these assaults and protect our land, our people, and our region.”