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| Iran Attacks Kurdish Positions Across the Border in Iraq | Iran Attacks Kurdish Positions Across the Border in Iraq |
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| Iranian forces bombarded opposition bases in the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks against Kurdish groups that Iran blames for fomenting some of the protests that have gripped the country for almost three weeks. | Iranian forces bombarded opposition bases in the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Tuesday, the latest in a string of attacks against Kurdish groups that Iran blames for fomenting some of the protests that have gripped the country for almost three weeks. |
| The attacks were reported by Iranian state media, which did not provide casualty figures. | The attacks were reported by Iranian state media, which did not provide casualty figures. |
| The head of the Iranian Kurdish opposition party Komalah said Iranian forces had launched an artillery assault on one of its bases in Iraqi Kurdistan. Abdullah Mohtadi, the director of the Komalah Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said two people were injured in the shelling of the main base about 10 miles southwest of the city of Suleimaniyah. | The head of the Iranian Kurdish opposition party Komalah said Iranian forces had launched an artillery assault on one of its bases in Iraqi Kurdistan. Abdullah Mohtadi, the director of the Komalah Party of Iranian Kurdistan, said two people were injured in the shelling of the main base about 10 miles southwest of the city of Suleimaniyah. |
| The violence was the latest deadly attack waged by Tehran against militant Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, drawing condemnation from around the world as it battles to curb the demonstrations that have convulsed Iran for the past 18 days. | The violence was the latest deadly attack waged by Tehran against militant Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, drawing condemnation from around the world as it battles to curb the demonstrations that have convulsed Iran for the past 18 days. |
| At least 17 people have been killed and more than 50 injured since the start of the bombardments, according to Iraqi Kurdish news media. The United Nations said that Iranian attacks last week hit Iranian refugee settlements across the border in Iraqi Kurdistan. Local officials said at least nine civilians were killed and dozens more injured. | At least 17 people have been killed and more than 50 injured since the start of the bombardments, according to Iraqi Kurdish news media. The United Nations said that Iranian attacks last week hit Iranian refugee settlements across the border in Iraqi Kurdistan. Local officials said at least nine civilians were killed and dozens more injured. |
| Iran has accused the groups of being responsible for violence in towns along its northwestern border with Iraq. In response, it has unleashed a wave of bombardments against several Iranian opposition paramilitary groups that maintain bases near the border. Those groups have accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps of trying to divert attention from the protests. | |
| In the attack on Tuesday, Iranian forces used drones and artillery to target Iranian Kurdish positions on Halgurd mountain and in the Sidakan and Bernezin districts, according to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards. The opposition positions are in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. | |
| An Iraqi-Kurdish commander in charge of border areas, Gen. Bahram Arif Yassin, said Iranian forces had massed troops on the border but had not tried crossing over into the Iraqi Kurdistan region. | An Iraqi-Kurdish commander in charge of border areas, Gen. Bahram Arif Yassin, said Iranian forces had massed troops on the border but had not tried crossing over into the Iraqi Kurdistan region. |
| The U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday that American forces had shot down an Iranian drone heading toward Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where the U.S. military maintains a base. | |
| Iran’s armed forces commander in chief, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, warned U.S. forces not to interfere. | Iran’s armed forces commander in chief, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, warned U.S. forces not to interfere. |
| “If Americans carry out any action against Iranian drones, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond to their hostile measure,” General Bagheri said on Friday, according to the Tasmin news agency, adding that Tehran has “complete and precise” knowledge of U.S. bases in Harir, Erbil and Duhok. | |
| He emphasized that his army was engaged in a “harsh” military offensive to disarm “separatist terrorists.” | He emphasized that his army was engaged in a “harsh” military offensive to disarm “separatist terrorists.” |
| The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, one of the opposition groups that has been targeted in the ongoing attacks, insists that it is not seeking a separate Kurdish state and is fighting for “a free and democratic” Iran. | The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran, one of the opposition groups that has been targeted in the ongoing attacks, insists that it is not seeking a separate Kurdish state and is fighting for “a free and democratic” Iran. |
| Since last week, the strikes have displaced more than 700 families, many of them Iranian refugees who were sheltering in the city of Koya, according to the Kurdish news website Rudaw, citing the city’s mayor. Hundreds were also forced to flee on Saturday after renewed shelling affected the village of Choman, near the Iraq-Iran border, according to Rudaw. | Since last week, the strikes have displaced more than 700 families, many of them Iranian refugees who were sheltering in the city of Koya, according to the Kurdish news website Rudaw, citing the city’s mayor. Hundreds were also forced to flee on Saturday after renewed shelling affected the village of Choman, near the Iraq-Iran border, according to Rudaw. |
| The government of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq has repeatedly denounced the strikes as “repetitive violations of the sovereignty of the Kurdistan region.” | The government of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq has repeatedly denounced the strikes as “repetitive violations of the sovereignty of the Kurdistan region.” |
| The violence has also drawn widespread condemnation from Iraqi officials and global leaders. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry in a tweet stated its “total rejection of all attacks that threaten the security and stability of Iraq.” | The violence has also drawn widespread condemnation from Iraqi officials and global leaders. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry in a tweet stated its “total rejection of all attacks that threaten the security and stability of Iraq.” |
| For almost two decades, Iran has wielded influence over its neighbor through religious and economic ties and the backing of militias. In a statement last week, the United Nations denounced the deadly border strikes as the latest example of Iraq’s role as the “region’s backyard where neighbors routinely, and with impunity, violate its sovereignty.” | For almost two decades, Iran has wielded influence over its neighbor through religious and economic ties and the backing of militias. In a statement last week, the United Nations denounced the deadly border strikes as the latest example of Iraq’s role as the “region’s backyard where neighbors routinely, and with impunity, violate its sovereignty.” |
| The strikes on Tuesday occurred as Iran was reeling from weeks of protests over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, a member of the Iranian Kurdish community, many of whom live in the northwest of the country, where 23 Kurdish protesters have been killed and more than 2,000 have been arrested, according to Hengaw, a Kurdish rights group. | The strikes on Tuesday occurred as Iran was reeling from weeks of protests over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, a member of the Iranian Kurdish community, many of whom live in the northwest of the country, where 23 Kurdish protesters have been killed and more than 2,000 have been arrested, according to Hengaw, a Kurdish rights group. |
| Ethnic Kurds have a separate language and culture and are one of several minority groups chafing under the Islamic government in Tehran. Across the region, thousands of Kurds have also taken to the streets to express their solidarity with the protesters in Iran and to voice rage at the longstanding discrimination Iranian Kurds have suffered. | Ethnic Kurds have a separate language and culture and are one of several minority groups chafing under the Islamic government in Tehran. Across the region, thousands of Kurds have also taken to the streets to express their solidarity with the protesters in Iran and to voice rage at the longstanding discrimination Iranian Kurds have suffered. |
| Sangar Khaleel contributed reporting. | Sangar Khaleel contributed reporting. |