Smoke rises from the area around Zargwezalla village in Sulaymaniyah governorate after a missile strike targeted the headquarters of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group Komala on Friday.
Missile strike kills nine members of Iranian Kurdish opposition group Komala
SULAYMANIYAH — A missile strike on the headquarters of the Revolutionary Organization of the Toilers of Kurdistan, known as Komala, in Sulaymaniyah governorate early Friday killed nine Peshmerga fighters and wounded three others, according to a member of the group’s Central Committee.
Speaking to 964media on condition of anonymity, the committee member said the attack was carried out with six missiles and struck the party’s main compound in Zargwezalla, where families also reside.
The source said the attack began shortly after 6 a.m. in two successive waves separated by several minutes, hitting residential areas inside the camp.
“The attack directly hit the camp and the area where the families live,” the committee member said, adding that several of the wounded suffered serious injuries and had been transferred to hospitals for treatment.
The source said casualty figures were initially unclear because fires continued burning after the strikes, but later confirmed that nine Peshmerga members had been killed and three others injured.
The Kurdistan Region Security Agency said seven missiles struck three locations at about 6:20 a.m. Friday. According to the agency, four missiles hit Zargwezalla village, one struck Qasrdi village and two landed near Girdi Kopan in the Qaradagh area. It said teams were continuing to assess the attacks to determine the extent of casualties and material damage.
Komala is an Iranian Kurdish opposition group that has maintained bases in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region for decades near the border with Iran. The group opposes the Iranian government, and its camps have repeatedly been targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The strike came hours after the Kurdistan Region Counter Terrorism Service announced that coalition forces had intercepted eight explosive drones over Erbil governorate between 4:19 a.m. and 5:25 a.m. Friday.
The agency said all eight drones were brought down and that no casualties or damage were reported.
The attack follows a renewed wave of security incidents across the Kurdistan Region. On Wednesday night, air defenses intercepted two drones over Erbil city, with falling debris causing material damage but no reported casualties. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi later condemned the strike, calling it “an attack carried out by drones that violated the airspace of Erbil city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” and ordered federal security agencies to coordinate with Kurdistan Region forces to prevent further attacks. Erbil has experienced repeated drone attacks throughout 2026 targeting the airport, energy facilities, commercial sites and locations on the city’s outskirts.