Kurdish fighters killed by Iranian shelling, attacks

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iranian Kurdish rebel group has announced the identity of its fighters it claims were recently killed in attacks by Iranian forces along the border with the Kurdistan Region.

Iranian shelling on Tuesday injured seasonal farmers that live in mountainous regions across the border from Erbil’s Haji Omaran and Sidakan districts.

“Aside from causing damage to villages and civilian property located in the area, two brave Peshmerga were martyred in the shelling,” read a statement released by The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), identifying them as Rahim Rostam Dastan, from Mahabad, and Idris Darweshi, from Piranshahr.   

“The leadership of PDKI and the Central Command of Kurdistan’s Peshmerga Forces send their deepest condolences to the families of our latest martyrs and the Kurdish nation,” the statement continued.

“Today’s heavy shelling comes against the backdrop of [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)] forces being defeated several times this summer inside eastern Kurdistan at the hands of urban Peshmerga units."

Since 2015, Iran has repeatedly shelled the border region between the Kurdistan Region and Iranian Kurdistan. Clashes between the IRGC and Iranian Kurdish groups have increased as well.

Meanwhile, the East Kurdistan Defense Forces (HRK), a group affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), recently claimed that four of its fighters were killed in clashes with the IRGC in Mariwan on July 11 and in Pavehon on July 14. The HRK said they would release the identities of the killed fighters at a later date.

Dr. Jonathan Spyer, Director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, told Kurdistan 24 the uptick in conflict might be meant to build “pressure on the Iranian regime.”

“I think there is a clear decision by Iranian Kurdish groups to revive and intensify armed activity, probably in light of the more general unrest in Iran and possibly with a tacit green light from elements in the US administration,” he said.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has called on Tehran to end its indiscriminate shelling of areas near the Kurdish border and asked Iranian Kurdish fighters to avoid using the Region to attack its neighboring state.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany