Kurdish Iranian opposition groups say Iran targeted them in northern Iraq, claim operations in Iran
A screenshot from a video posted by the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which it says shows its forces being targeted by a drone attack on March 1.
Kurdish Iranian opposition groups said on March 1 that they have been targeted by drone and missile attacks in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The attacks took place after the US and Israel carried out strikes on Iran on February 28.
The Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) distributed footage on X and to journalists of what it claimed was a drone attack. The group has accused the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of targeting its bases since February 28. Several other Kurdish opposition groups also said they were targeted. Kurdish Iranian opposition groups have forces in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, and five of the groups recently agreed to form a coalition against the Iranian regime.
“A senior figure in the Iranian Kurdish opposition told Alhurra that the headquarters of four Iranian Kurdish parties in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region were targeted by Iranian drones on Sunday evening,” Alhurra reported on March 1. The report noted that Khalil Nadri, a spokesperson for PAK, had confirmed the reports. One strike took place “between Erbil and Duhok,” the report said. Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
A video of the attack includes sounds that are similar to those made by Iranian one-way Shahed 136 drones used in other attacks. On February 28 and March 1, Iranian-backed militias also used drones launched from Iraq to target US forces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. PAK also claimed it was targeted by ballistic missiles that were intercepted on March 1.
Iranian attacks, including by Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, have increasingly targeted Iraq’s Kurdistan Region since the conflict began on February 28. On March 1, the US State Department condemned Iran’s regional attacks, which have occurred across the Middle East.
In addition, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq said that its Peshmerga forces were targeted in a drone attack on the evening of March 1. The semi-autonomous Kurdish region has closed schools and had to cut back on electricity generation from gas fields amidst the conflict.
In addition to the Kurdistan Freedom Party, Iran has reportedly hit several other Kurdish Iranian groups in northern Iraq. The Alhurra report also said that the “Komala party headquarters in the Zargwez area of Sulaymaniyah province” was targeted in an attack. The report noted that the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) was targeted in the Zwi Spi and Azadi areas of Koya district, and a PDKI site was targeted in Erbil Governorate. Komala, PAK, and PDKI are three of the Kurdish opposition groups that announced a coalition against the Iranian regime on February 22.
“Once again today and tonight, bases of our party @PDKIenglish were targeted by missiles and drones launched by the Islamic Republic regime,” Aso Saleh, a Kurdish political analyst affiliated with PDKI, wrote on X on March 1. Saleh said that none of the group’s members were killed. The PDKI refers to its fighters as “Peshmerga,” the same name used by the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to refer to its military forces. “Our resolve remains strong, and we continue preparing for the near future. These attacks will not silence us,” Saleh noted.
On March 2, Saleh stated to FDD’s Long War Journal that the PDKI has carried out operations in Iran. “Since last night, and especially today, the attacks across all regions of Iranian Kurdistan have become much more intense. In these attacks, border bases, intelligence offices, the state broadcasting organization, the judiciary, intercity bases, and urban police stations have been targeted.” He also claimed that the group had targeted missile facilities of the regime.
“We are witnessing a major shift, and the Kurdish armed parties—especially those that are at the center of the alliance of political forces of Iranian Kurdistan—are ready for any action in the coming days and weeks,” Saleh stated. He claimed that the opposition groups had freed prisoners in Mariwan, Iran.
PDKI leader Mustafa Hijri issued a statement about the conflict on the group’s website on March 1. Hijri referred to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and noted that his group “will continue to fight for the unity and protection of the common destiny of the Kurdish society until free and democratic elections are held.”
The Kurdish Iranian group PJAK has also indicated that its forces are operating inside Kurdish regions of Iran, according to a translation of a post by the PJAK group by Rojhelat Info, an X account that covers Kurdish issues in Iran. According to Rojhelat, PJAK also condemned the Iranian attacks on Kurdish groups.
Secretary General of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan Abdullah Mohtadi issued a statement on March 1 regarding developments in Iran. “The breaths of the Islamic Republic regime are running out,” Mohtadi wrote. He called on Kurdish soldiers, apparently a reference to Kurds who serve in the Iranian army, to “not betray the land of your forefathers, do not turn your back on your deprived and oppressed people. […] Stand on the right side of history and keep yourselves and your families proud and safe.”
