Drone strike wounds eight at Iranian Kurdish opposition base near Erbil

ERBIL — Eight fighters from the Kurdistan National Army, the armed wing of the Iranian Kurdish opposition Kurdistan Freedom Party, were wounded in a drone strike on one of the group’s bases northeast of Erbil early Sunday, the group said.

The strike hit the base in the Chamshar area near Darashakran, close to the border of Erbil governorate, at about 2 a.m. in what the group said was an Iranian explosive drone. “Eight of our Peshmerga were wounded,” Adib Khalidian said in a statement issued by the Kurdistan National Army.

Videos and images obtained by 964media appear to show an explosive-laden drone flying over the base before detonating.

The Kurdistan National Army adopted its current name for the party’s Peshmerga fighters at the Kurdistan Freedom Party’s 2020 congress. Hana Human Rights Organization said the party’s own reports attributed the strike to Iran.

The attack follows a series of strikes on the Kurdistan Region. On Friday, seven missiles hit three locations in Sulaymaniyah governorate, killing nine members of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group Komala, according to the Kurdistan Region Security Council. Later that day, a suspected suicide drone struck a Peshmerga ammunition depot near Tasluja, setting off a large fire and secondary explosions. On Saturday, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan President Bafel Talabani said Sulaymaniyah had been hit by ballistic missiles launched from Iran and condemned the attacks as violations of international law.