Iran launches deadly attacks on Kurdish region of northern Iraq

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) launched attacks on the Kurdish region of northern Iraq targeting armed rebel groups, Iranian state media have reported.

The headquarters of the Komala Party, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (IKDP) and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) were hit with missiles and drones, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed the attacks.

Seven people were killed and 28 wounded in the attacks, Kurdish Regional Government’s health ministry in Erbil said in a statement.

“Four were killed and 14 wounded” in the Koysinjaq region, and “three were killed and 14 wounded” in Sherawa, it said, adding “there are civilians among the victims”.

Abdullah Mohtadi, secretary general of the Komala Party, said on his social media account that their headquarters in Sulaymaniyah were attacked by Iranian army drones.

Meanwhile, Hussein Yazdanpanah, the head of PAK, told reporters that their headquarters in Koysanca district in Erbil and Kirkuk’s Altinkopru district came under attack.

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Smuggling of weapons?

The Revolutionary Guard said it carried out an artillery attack last week in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

In a statement, the IRGC said its ground forces targeted the positions of Komala Party, accusing it of smuggling weapons into Iran.

The attacks come amid nationwide protests in the wake of the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman in police custody last week, who was arrested for not wearing the hijab ‘properly’.

Mahsa Amini belonged to a section of Iran with a large Kurdish population where protests have grown louder over the past week.

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