Iran launches fresh attacks on Kurdish opposition group in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Tuesday launched new missile strikes against the headquarters of the Kurdish opposition group, Komala Toilers Party of Kurdistan (Komala), in Erbil province, two injured the group said. 

The strikes targeted the party’s headquarters in Alana valley with three missiles, near the town of Khalifan, at around 1:20 pm local time, Amjad Hussein Panahi, head of the party's communications, said in a post on Facebook. 

“Although the attack was carried out intensely, our forces were able to protect themselves safely because of their preparedness and implementation of security measures,” Panahi said, adding that "we have two injured, but their injuries are very slight," Panahi stated to Rudaw.

“Just now, the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out a third missile attack against the headquarters and camp of the Komala Toilers  Party  of Kurdistan in the Alana Valley,” Panahi said moments after his first statement.

Panahi framed the latest attacks as part of an ongoing campaign of Iranian missile and drone strikes against the headquarters and camps of Iranian Kurdish dissident groups in the Kurdistan Region.
 
According to Panahi, more than 102 missiles and drones have targeted its positions since the start of the US-Iran war on February 28.

The latest strike comes just two weeks after an Iranian missile attack on a Komala base in the Alana valley injured six of the group’s members. Panahi told Rudaw at the time that the missiles were Khaybar Karar missiles.

Nine Komala members were also killed in an Iranian missile strike on the group’s headquarters in Zirgwez, near Sulaimani province, in mid-July. The attack involved six missiles, according to the group.

Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region have repeatedly accused Tehran of targeting their positions. Iran has long demanded that Iraq and the Kurdistan Region disarm or expel the groups, saying they pose a security threat to the country.

The attacks extend beyond opposition group bases.

Rudaw has recorded more than 950 drone and missile attacks on the Kurdistan Region since the start of the US-Iran conflict, killing 32 people and wounding 154 others as of the beginning of Aug.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has repeatedly said the Region is not a party to the conflict and has called for an end to attacks on its territory.