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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the country's National Security Council, discussing the findings of the latest drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region's oil facilities and the attack on an agriculture ministry branch in Baghdad blamed on pro-Iran militias.
'During the meeting, the work of the specialized committees investigating the attacks on oil facilities, vital areas, and Iraqi military equipment, including radars, as well as the recent attack on an agriculture department near Karkh, Baghdad, was reviewed,' Sudani's spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said in a statement.
An 'armed assault' by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) on an agriculture ministry office in Baghdad's Karkh district on Sunday left three people dead - a policeman, a civilian, and a member of the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah. Baghdad confirmed that the perpetrators of the attack were PMF members.
The Kurdistan Region has also come under dozens of rocket and drone attacks in recent weeks, including strikes on its oil facilities. The Kurdish government has blamed the PMF for the attacks - charges strongly denied as 'unacceptable' by Baghdad.
The strikes have badly damaged the Kurdistan Region's oil infrastructure, halting production in some fields entirely and cutting total output by about 70 percent.
'The meeting discussed the overall security situation in the country, reviewed the topics on the agenda, and made the necessary decisions and recommendations,' Numan added.
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch condemned the attacks as a 'dangerous escalation' that risks fueling disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.
A day prior, the United States blamed the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah - a PMF component - for the Baghdad agriculture department attack, calling on the Iraqi government to bring the perpetrators to account 'without delay.'
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