Six drones hit Koya and Sharbazher within 24 hours, security agency says

ERBIL — Six drones struck the Koya and Sharbazher areas of the Kurdistan Region over 24 hours, causing no casualties, the Kurdistan Region Security Agency said Tuesday.

Five hit Erbil’s Koya district and its surroundings on Monday and a sixth struck Sharbazher, in Sulaymaniyah governorate, on Tuesday, the agency said. It did not identify the intended targets, say whether there was material damage or attribute responsibility.

The Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish opposition group also known as PAK, said Monday that four drones hit its Chamshar headquarters in Erbil governorate, which it described as the base of its military wing, the Kurdistan National Army. It released footage it said showed the aftermath, with flames burning through vegetation, and reported no casualties. A week earlier the party said eight of its fighters were wounded in a drone strike on one of its bases northeast of Erbil.

The strikes follow a series across the Kurdistan Region. Coalition forces shot down five explosive drones over Erbil on Friday, according to the Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism. On Wednesday, six fighters from the Iranian Kurdish opposition party Komala were wounded when an attack hit its camp in Doli Alana, in Khalifan district, a party source told 964media.

On July 17, seven missiles struck three locations in Sulaymaniyah governorate, killing nine members of Komala. Later that day a suspected suicide drone hit a Peshmerga ammunition depot near Tasluja, setting off a large fire and secondary explosions. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan President Bafel Talabani said the following day that Sulaymaniyah had been struck by ballistic missiles launched from Iran, and condemned the attacks as violations of international law.

The attacks come amid renewed fighting between the United States and Iran after a June ceasefire unravelled. U.S. forces have struck Iranian military targets following attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has launched missiles and drones at U.S. facilities in several Gulf countries.

Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan, which monitors security incidents in the Region, documented 751 attacks between late February and late May, attributing them to Iran and Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups. It recorded 22 people killed and 112 wounded, including 10 affiliated with Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and 12 civilians, Kurdish security personnel and other non-combatants.