Iraqi army downs drone, believed to be for Peshmerga: Officer
Members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) holding a drone guided by Islamic State militants, which they shot down in Shirqat, Salahuddin province.
“Iraqi troops downed a drone in Aiyadhiya region, northwest of Mosul,” Lt. Gen. Zafer al-Falahi, of the Iraqi army’s 15th division.
“The jet was proven to be unknown, however, it’s believed to be for Peshmerga deployed on the borders of Aiyadhiya,” Falahi added.
The jet “was small and is used remotely for surveillance,” he said.
Last week, news reports said Iraqi army managed to down a surveillance jet of Peshmerga in al-Salamiyah village in Nimrud, southeast of Mosul, which was denied later by Peshmerga reasoning that troops do not own that kind of jets.
The Kurdistan Region’s Security Council announced on Wednesday receiving threats that Iraqi joint troops are preparing for a major attack on Kurdistan from southwest Kirkuk and north of Mosul, which was dismissed by Peshmerga later.
The escalation between Erbil and the federal government in Baghdad occurred after Kurdistan carried out the independence referendum on September 25th, a step that was opposed by regional and international forces as well as Baghdad. Consequently, Baghdad imposed a ban on international flights to and from Kurdistan, after the region declined handing over the two airports of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah to the Iraqi government.