Iran shells Kurdistan border area, no casualties reported
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have fired artillery at the surrounding areas of the village of Gundazhor, Haji Omaran town, in eastern Erbil province.
Iran has shelled areas inside the Kurdistan Region on several occasions on the pretext of the presence of armed Kurdish groups on its border.
One civilian and two Peshmerga fighters of the Kurdish rebels opposed to Iran were injured by Iran’s cross-border shelling in July.
The July shelling targets an area where three Kurdish armed groups opposed to Iran are present. They include members of the Iranian Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDKI or HDKA), Iran's Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK, HDK), and the Komala party.
The PDKI, which is considered Iran’s main armed Kurdish party, said in 2015 that it was giving up a two-decade ceasefire with the Iranian government and returning its guerrilla fighters to Iran, but that it would not initiate hostilities unless attacked. They also rejected a request from the Kurdistan Region “to stop armed attacks in Iran,” following rising tensions between Tehran and Erbil over the presence of Kurdish armed groups in the border areas.
Komala, whose three Peshmerga fighters were killed in clashes with Iranian security forces in late June inside Iran, revealed earlier in the year that it had resumed its armed struggle against Iran, becoming the third Kurdish party to do so since 2015.
Komala vowed that they will “avenge” the killings of their Peshmerga, adding that the time is very close to start a comprehensive armed struggle against Tehran.
The party signed an alliance agreement with the PDKI in 2012, a more active armed party. This alliance is reflected in their armed deployment to the mountains.
These parties are now said to be manning a 60-km border with Iran.
No casualties have been reported, Farzang Ahmed, the town’s commissioner said.
Iran has shelled areas inside the Kurdistan Region on several occasions on the pretext of the presence of armed Kurdish groups on its border.
The July shelling targets an area where three Kurdish armed groups opposed to Iran are present. They include members of the Iranian Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDKI or HDKA), Iran's Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK, HDK), and the Komala party.
The PDKI, which is considered Iran’s main armed Kurdish party, said in 2015 that it was giving up a two-decade ceasefire with the Iranian government and returning its guerrilla fighters to Iran, but that it would not initiate hostilities unless attacked. They also rejected a request from the Kurdistan Region “to stop armed attacks in Iran,” following rising tensions between Tehran and Erbil over the presence of Kurdish armed groups in the border areas.
Komala, whose three Peshmerga fighters were killed in clashes with Iranian security forces in late June inside Iran, revealed earlier in the year that it had resumed its armed struggle against Iran, becoming the third Kurdish party to do so since 2015.
Komala vowed that they will “avenge” the killings of their Peshmerga, adding that the time is very close to start a comprehensive armed struggle against Tehran.
The party signed an alliance agreement with the PDKI in 2012, a more active armed party. This alliance is reflected in their armed deployment to the mountains.
These parties are now said to be manning a 60-km border with Iran.
Following the July shelling, the Kurdistan Regional Government condemned Iran's bombing of Kurdish territories, saying that they are committed to good neighborly relations and are no party to the conflict between Iran and opposition groups.
An Iranian commander then came out accusing the KRG of violating security arrangements between the two sides, suggesting that Erbil is unable to control the Kurdish armed groups opposed to Iran.