ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four drones struck a base of an Iranian opposition party in Erbil province early Wednesday, wounding five, said the group. The attack came two hours after Washington’s unilateral extension of a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
“Their [Iran’s] actions once again show a preference for escalation over regional stability,” the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which has been targeted numerous times since the US-Israel war against Iran began late February, said in a statement regarding the strikes.
The statement reported that three people were injured. However, Adib Khaldiyan, a senior member of the party, later told Rudaw English that five people were wounded in the strikes.
Trump said late Tuesday that he has decided to extend the fragile truce with Iran based on Pakistan’s request in order to give Tehran time to submit a “unified proposal” for agreement. Announced on April 8, the ceasefire tenuously ended a nearly 40-days of war between the arch-foes.
Despite the ceasefire, Iran and its Iraqi proxies have continued their attacks on the Kurdistan Region, killing at least five and injuring others, said the Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday. The Kurdistan Region endured more than 700 attacks during the war, with over a dozen killed and at least 90 injured, according to Rudaw’s tracking.
PAK placed “critical responsibility” on the US for Iran’s continued attacks on their bases.
“Throughout the ceasefire period, the only territory and entity against which Iran has failed to cease fire—continuing its missile and drone strikes—has been the Kurdistan Region,” Rebaz Sharifi, one of the PAK commanders, said in a separate statement about the attack.
Iran intensified its attacks on the opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region following the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” Movement, which began as a call for women’s rights but later evolved into nationwide protests. Hundreds were killed and thousands were arrested.
Updated at 12:04 pm
