ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Iran has begun shelling inside the Kurdistan Region on Sunday, under pretext of the presence of forces and bases belonging to the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI). Five civilians have been wounded in the attacks, including three children. Kanan Kanabi, a health official in Choman district told Rudaw that “Iranian bombardment of the border areas in the Kurdistan Region has wounded two children, a woman and a man,” adding that “their injuries are not critical and they are now in a good health.” He also said that a number of ambulances and a first aid team rushed to the border areas where the attacks occurred to help people who are reportedly escaping the region due to the intense bombardment. Iran is intensively shelling Berkma and Barbzin areas in Sidakan, a few kilometres within the Kurdistan Region borders in the Soran district of Erbil province. A Rudaw correspondent in the area reported that five or six bombs were dropped within one minute Sunday morning and the shelling has scared the local population. Iran is also shelling the Haji Omeran border areas. According to a Rudaw correspondent, Iranian artillery is shelling Doli Alana, Rash Harman and Kuna Re in Haji Omeran, which is within the Choman district of Erbil province. Two shepherds have been injured in the shelling. The shelling in the Sidakan area has caused a large fire in the area, where farming is the dominant industry. People are leaving the area and moving towards the centre of Sidakan. A witness in the area reported an Iranian military helicopter flying very low along the border. It is believed the aircraft was providing information for forces on the Iranian side of the border firing artillery into the Kurdistan Region. Turkey has frequently been shelling this border area for a year and half, targeting Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases, but in the past 10 years this specific border area has not been bombarded by Iran. This shelling is happening as both the KDPI and the Iranian forces have resumed their military activities in the area. In the past couple of weeks, Peshmerga and Iranian Revolutionary Guards have clashed several times in eastern Kurdistan, Iran. Photographs of the injured are published here.
