Iran Escalates Cross-Border Strikes: Drones and Missiles Pound Kurdish Opposition Bases in Alana Valley
Iran fired several missiles and drones at locations in the Alana Valley, about 90 kilometers northeast of Erbil, targeting positions of the Kurdish opposition groups Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), a Peshmerga commander told Rudaw English on Wednesday.
A security official told Rudaw that two drones struck the area, causing no casualties. The attacks targeted the headquarters and camps of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region, a day after Iranian missiles struck the same area, injuring at least two Komala Peshmerga fighters.
Andam Jabar, Rudaw's reporter in the area, said four drones struck locations across Soran, Khalifan, and Harir districts at around 6:00 am local time. Two drones crashed in Khalifan, while another struck a civilian home in Soran and one crashed in Harir, where it caused a fire in the brushwood and grasslands of Mount Bani Harir. Jabar reported no casualties at any of the three locations.
The attack comes amid stalled diplomatic talks between the US and Iran following weeks of renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz, as a maritime blockade remains in effect.
On Tuesday, Iran launched three missiles at Komala's headquarters in the same location at around 1:20 pm local time, according to Amjad Hussein Panahi, head of the group's communications. Panahi said the attack was carried out intensely but that Komala forces were able to protect themselves due to their preparedness and security measures. He later told Rudaw that two people were injured, though their injuries were very slight. Shortly afterward, Panahi confirmed a third missile attack that day against the Komala Toilers Party of Kurdistan's headquarters and camp in the Alana Valley.
Panahi said the latest strikes were part of an ongoing Iranian campaign against Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region, noting that more than 102 missiles and drones have targeted Komala positions since the start of the US-Iran war on February 28.
The latest attacks came about two weeks after an Iranian missile strike on a Komala base in the Alana Valley injured six members of the group, using what Panahi identified at the time as Khaybar Karar missiles. In mid-July, nine Komala members were killed when Iran struck the group's headquarters in Zirgwez, near Sulaimani province, in an attack the group said used six missiles.
Iran's Attacks on Kurds
Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region have repeatedly accused Tehran of targeting their bases. Iran has repeatedly demanded that Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) disarm or expel the groups, saying they threaten Iran's security.
The attacks have not been limited to the bases of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. According to Rudaw, more than 950 Iranian drone and missile attacks have struck the Kurdistan Region since the start of the US-Iran conflict, killing 32 people and wounding 154 others as of early August. The KRG has repeatedly stated that the Kurdistan Region is not a party to the conflict and has called for an end to attacks on its territory.