Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has carried out new missile and drone strikes against positions of Kurdish groups in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan (north), amid tensions in recent months.
According to information gathered by the Iranian news agency Mehr, Iranian forces have used artillery and drones to attack bases of several Kurdish formations, among them the Democratic Party of Kurdistan of Iran (PDKI).
The PDKI has confirmed that one of its members has been killed by the attacks near the town of Koya. The mayor of the town, Tariq Haydari, indicated that the attacks started at around 9.00 a.m. (local time).
«The shelling started at 8:49 a.m. and so far four missiles have hit,» Haydari told Kurdish TV channel Rudaw, before specifying that the level of damage caused by the attacks is not clear at the moment.
The Iraqi Kurdistan Health Minister Saman Barzinji confirmed one dead and eight wounded from the attacks, which targeted a base of the Kurdish group Komala in Zarguez, according to Isman Jalili, a senior official of the formation.
Iranian authorities began suspending their attacks against targets in Iraqi Kurdistan on Oct. 10 «after destroying predetermined targets.» «The continuation of the attacks will depend on the future behavior of the authorities in the northern Iraqi region,» the Revolutionary Guard said.
Iranian authorities have accused Kurdish opposition groups of whipping up recent protests in the country over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman from the Kurdish minority who died in custody after being detained in Tehran for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.
Iran has about seven million Kurds, representing about ten percent of its population. Most live in the Kurdistan region, located in the northwest of the country, along the border with Iraq.
