Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
Kurdistan
An image shared by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDK-I) shows damage it says was caused by Iran's IRGC in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on July 11, 2019. File photo: PDK-I
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday it used drones to strike Kurdish opposition groups in border areas between Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in retaliation for attacks on its forces in northwest Iran earlier this week.
IRGC land forces launched attacks on “active headquarters, shelter, and training” locations on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Iran on Wednesday, the IRGC said in a statement seen by Tasnim, a news agency close to the Guards.
Missile, drone, and artillery units of the IRGC conducted the attacks in which “a large number of the terrorist elements were killed and injured,” it said.
Friday’s operation may be the first recorded case of Iran using drones against Kurdish armed groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Iran started shelling the border areas on Wednesday in retaliation for the death of three Guardsmen in Western Azerbaijan and Kurdistan provinces.
A spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirmed to Rudaw that the shelling was an act of retaliation.
The IRGC, in its statement, called on the KRG to take Iran’s “warnings seriously” and prevent Kurdish armed groups from sheltering in the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdish groups such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI), Komala, and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), among others, operate on the border and are known to regularly clash with Iranian forces.
IRGC land forces launched attacks on “active headquarters, shelter, and training” locations on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Iran on Wednesday, the IRGC said in a statement seen by Tasnim, a news agency close to the Guards.
Missile, drone, and artillery units of the IRGC conducted the attacks in which “a large number of the terrorist elements were killed and injured,” it said.
Friday’s operation may be the first recorded case of Iran using drones against Kurdish armed groups in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Iran started shelling the border areas on Wednesday in retaliation for the death of three Guardsmen in Western Azerbaijan and Kurdistan provinces.
A spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) confirmed to Rudaw that the shelling was an act of retaliation.
The IRGC, in its statement, called on the KRG to take Iran’s “warnings seriously” and prevent Kurdish armed groups from sheltering in the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdish groups such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI), Komala, and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), among others, operate on the border and are known to regularly clash with Iranian forces.
The KDPI was not immediately available for comment about Friday's incident.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment