Eight Iranian Kurdish rebels were killed in northern Iraq by strikes, their group announced Friday, blaming Iran.
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“At 4:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m. GMT), the Iranian regime attacked a camp using drones and rockets” belonging to the Komala party in exile, a member of this group, Idriss Kohlwazi, told AFP. The strikes, near the town of Sulaymaniyah, left “eight martyrs among our members, and injured others,” he added.
Since the start of the war in the Middle East on February 28, the Iraqi Kurdistan region, rich in oil and home to American military bases, has been targeted by attacks launched by Iran and pro-Iranian Iraqi groups.
Even after announcing a ceasefire in April, Iran continued to bomb exiled Kurdish opposition groups there, which the Islamic Republic accuses of serving American or Israeli interests.
But the attack reported Friday is the most serious since the ceasefire, with rebel groups having virtually evacuated their camps and bases.
Kurdish forces in Iraq said on Friday that the US-led coalition had intercepted eight drones over Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the second such incident this week.
The city is home to a major US consulate, while military advisers attached to the Washington-led anti-jihadist coalition are hosted at its airport.
“Coalition forces destroyed eight drones loaded with explosives flying over Erbil between 4:19 a.m. and 5:25 a.m. (1:19 a.m. and 2:25 a.m. GMT),” Kurdish forces said on Friday morning, without reporting any casualties or damage.
Already on Wednesday, these forces announced that several drones had been shot down over the city.
