Kurdish rebels in Iraq report Iranian attack on camp near Erbil

A drone strike in Iraq’s Kurdistan region wounded eight Iranian Kurdish rebels on Sunday, an exiled opposition group says, blaming the attack on Iran.

Adib Khaldian from the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) tells AFP Iranian forces carried out a drone attack on a camp belonging to the party near Erbil at 2 a.m.

“Eight of our members were wounded,” Khaldian says, blaming the attack on Iran.

On Friday, drone and rocket attacks also blamed on Iran killed nine members of the Komala Party, another Iranian Kurdish opposition group.

The latest attacks are the biggest escalation against these groups, which Iran has continued to strike even after a ceasefire was announced in April.

In Erbil, the capital of autonomous Kurdistan, AFP journalists reported hearing loud blasts before dawn after air defenses were activated in the city.

In recent days, the US-led anti-jihadist coalition’s air defenses shot down several explosive-laden drones over the city, which is home to a major US consulate complex and houses military advisers attached to the coalition at its airport.

Kurdistan’s prime minister blamed Iran and urged it to stop “unjustified attacks” on the region.