Drone strikes hit KDPI-linked site in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region
Iran has reportedly expanded operations against Kurdish opposition groups after days of clashes between the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in western Iran.
Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported that two drones struck a base belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) in Degala, a sub-district of Erbil, late Wednesday. The KDPI told Rudaw that no Peshmerga fighters were present at the site during the attack and that no casualties were reported.
The strike came amid growing speculation that Tehran is trying to prevent other Kurdish opposition factions from joining PJAK-linked confrontations with Iranian forces. Rudaw reported that the Kurdistan Region has faced at least 865 drone and missile attacks since late February.
Clashes continue in Kurdish areas
The KDPI also said five of its fighters were killed in an IRGC ambush near Piranshahr in western Iran. Iranian media separately reported heavy fighting in the Piranshahr and Sardasht areas between IRGC units and Kurdish fighters, though it did not provide full casualty details.
Meanwhile, clashes have also been reported in Mahabad, Baneh and other Kurdish-populated towns in western Iran, further heightening tensions across the region.
Rights group reports rising casualties
The Hengaw human rights organization said the death toll from a recent armed clash at a Baneh checkpoint rose to three after Iranian security force member Afshin Fatahi died from his injuries in Sanandaj.
Hengaw identified the other Iranian personnel killed as Mohammad Hossein Beigi and conscript soldier Mardin Ahmadi. The group said the clash involved the East Kurdistan Defense Units, the armed wing of PJAK.
Kurdish opposition groups are closely monitoring the developments as Iran appears to intensify pressure on multiple factions along both sides of the Iran-Iraq border.
