Newborn baby dies in Erbil one day after Iranian attack kills mother

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A newborn baby whose mother was killed by an Iranian attack in Erbil province on Wednesday before his birth passed away late Thursday in hospital, a health official said. 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked Kurdistan Region’s Erbil and Sulaimani provinces on Wednesday, targeting the bases of Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups. At least 14 people were killed and 58 were injured in the attacks, according to latest figures by the health ministry, including the newborn baby. 

One of the injured was Rayhan Kanaani who lived in a camp in Erbil province with her husband, Zanyar Rahmani. Both were members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI). Kanaani, who was pregnant, died in hospital later on Wednesday. Doctors were able to save her baby whose due date was October 3. 

However, the one-day-old baby, who was named Wanyar by parents, died late Thursday in an Erbil hospital, Dilovan Mohammed, head of Erbil Health Directorate, told Rudaw. 

Carrying the dead body of his son in front of the hospital, Rahmani said “I will bury the dead bodies of my child and wife together.”

There have been protests in Iran, starting with the recent death of Mahsa Amini while in morality police custody in Tehran. The IRGC blamed the Kurdish parties including the KDPI for a violent unrest that had engulfed the country for nearly two weeks. Demonstrations are ongoing. 

The IRGC’s recent attacks have been condemned locally and internationally.