Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Kurdish Officials: Death Toll Climbs in Iranian Drone Attack
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
September 29, 2022

Share

 

An Iranian drone bombing campaign targeting the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq on Wednesday killed at least nine people and wounded 32 others, the Kurdish Regional Government’s Health Ministry said.

The strikes took place as demonstrations continued to engulf the Islamic Republic after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by the Iranian morality police.

Iran’s attacks targeted Koya, some 65 kilometers (35 miles) east of Irbil, said Soran Nuri, a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The group, known by the acronym KDPI, is a leftist armed opposition force banned in Iran.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in a statement said the attacks “impacted the Iranian refugee settlements” in Koya, and that refugees and other civilians were among the casualties.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry and the Kurdistan Regional Government have condemned the strikes.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and broadcaster said the country’s Revolutionary Guard targeted bases of a separatist group in the north of Iraq with “precision missiles” and “suicide drones.”

Gen. Hasan Hasanzadeh of the Revolutionary Guard said 185 Basijis, a volunteer force, were injured by “machete and knife” in the unrest, state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. Hasanzadeh also said rioters broke the skull of one of the Basij members. He added that five Basijis are hospitalized in intensive care.

The Iranian drone strikes targeted a military camp, homes, offices and other areas around Koya, Nuri said. Nuri described the attack as ongoing.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the government in Baghdad was expected to summon the Iranian ambassador to deliver a diplomatic complaint over the strikes.

In Baghdad, four Katyusha rockets landed in the capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Wednesday as legislators gathered in parliament.

The zone, home to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, is a frequent target of rocket and drone attacks that the United States blames on Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups.

The Iraqi military earlier said in a statement that one rocket landed near parliament, another near the parliament’s guesthouse, and a third at a junction near the Judicial Council. Two security officials told the AP that the fourth rocket also landed near parliament.

Iraqi state news reported four security officers were wounded.

The office of Iraq’s caretaker prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, in a statement said security forces were pursuing the assailants who fired the rockets, and asked protesters to remain peaceful.

Cellphone footage circulating on social media showed smoke billowing from a carpark near the parliament building.

Following the first series of strikes in northern Iraq, Iran then shelled seven positions in Koya’s stronghold in Qala, a KDPI official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity in order to speak publicly. The Qala area includes the party’s politburo.

An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances racing through Koya after the strikes. Smoke rose from the site of one apparent strike as security forces closed off the area.

Meanwhile, security forces lobbed tear gas and fired rubber bullets at protesting Iranian Kurds in Sulimaniyah.

On Saturday and Monday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard unleashed a wave of drone and artillery strikes targeting Kurdish positions.

The attacks appear to be a response to the ongoing protests roiling Iran over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by the nation’s morality police.

The U.S. Department of State called the Iranian attacks an “unjustified violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“We are also aware of reports of civilian casualties and deplore any loss of life caused by today’s attacks,” said spokesperson Ned Price in a statement. “Moreover, we further condemn comments from the government of Iran threatening additional attacks against Iraq.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said in a tweet that the country cannot be treated as “the region’s “backyard” where neighbors routinely, and with impunity, violate its sovereignty.”

“Rocket diplomacy is a reckless act with devastating consequences,” the U.N. agency said.

Meanwhile, Britain’s State Minister for the Middle East said the attacks “demonstrate a repeated pattern of Iranian destabilizing activity in the region,” while the German Foreign Ministry and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also condemned Iran for the strikes.

The U.N. secretary-general called on Iran early Wednesday to refrain from using “unnecessary or disproportionate force” against protesters as unrest over a young woman’s death in police custody spread across the country.

Antonio Guterres said through a spokesman that authorities should swiftly conduct an impartial investigation of Amini’s death, which has sparked unrest across Iran’s provinces and the capital of Tehran.

“We are increasingly concerned about reports of rising fatalities, including women and children, related to the protests,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in a statement. “We underline the need for prompt, impartial and effective investigation into Ms. Mahsa Amini’s death by an independent competent authority.”

Protests have spread across at least 46 cities, towns and villages in Iran. State TV reported that at least 41 protesters and police have been killed since the demonstrations began Sept. 17.

An Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least 14 dead, with more than 1,500 demonstrators arrested.

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard in a statement called for an international investigation over the deaths of protesters.

“Dozens of people, including children, have been killed so far and hundreds injured,” the statement read. “The voices of the courageous people of Iran desperately crying out for international support must not be ignored.”

The human rights organization added that it has documented cases of Iranian security forces sexually assaulting women protesters.

Meanwhile, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it documented the arrests of at least 23 journalists as the clashes between security forces and protesters heated up.

CPJ in a Wednesday statement called on Iranian authorities to “immediately” release arrested journalists who covered Amini’s death and protests.

Dujarric added that Guterres stressed the need to respect human rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association during the meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on September 22nd.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence

DON'T MISS

The Summer After Barbenheimer and the Strikes, Hollywood Charts a New Course

DON'T MISS

Fresno Oops? Garbage Hike Protest Vote Delayed by Error

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy

DON'T MISS

Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies

DON'T MISS

Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments: We Followed the City’s Rules

DON'T MISS

Which Six QBs Were Selected in the Top 12 of the NFL Draft?

DON'T MISS

Nuggets Close to Sweeping Lakers After Game 3 Win

DON'T MISS

Jose Ramirez: ‘I Want to Make a Statement and Put on a Show’

DON'T MISS

‘IDEA’ Is the Latest Career-Oriented Campus on Fresno Unified’s Drawing Board

UP NEXT

Egypt Sends Delegation to Israel, Its Latest Effort to Broker a Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hamas

UP NEXT

USC Scraps Graduation Ceremony Amid Concerns Over Potential Disruptions from Protests

UP NEXT

Lawyer Says Iran Rapper Famous for Songs After 2022 Killing of Mahsa Amini Sentenced to Death

UP NEXT

Hamas Official: We’ll Put Down Arms if an Independent Palestine Is Created

UP NEXT

Ex-State Department Official: Israeli Military Gets Preferential Treatment on Abuses

UP NEXT

Police Tangle With Students in Texas and California as Wave of Campus Protest Against Gaza War Grows

UP NEXT

Ukraine Uses Long-Range Missiles Secretly Provided by US to Hit Russian-Held Areas, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Tent Compound Rises in Southern Gaza as Israel Prepares for Rafah Offensive

UP NEXT

A Far-Right German EU Lawmaker’s Aide Is Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China

UP NEXT

Israel’s Military Intelligence Chief Resigns Over Failure to Prevent Hamas Attack on Oct. 7

Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy

17 hours ago

Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies

17 hours ago

Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments: We Followed the City’s Rules

18 hours ago

Which Six QBs Were Selected in the Top 12 of the NFL Draft?

18 hours ago

Nuggets Close to Sweeping Lakers After Game 3 Win

18 hours ago

Jose Ramirez: ‘I Want to Make a Statement and Put on a Show’

19 hours ago

‘IDEA’ Is the Latest Career-Oriented Campus on Fresno Unified’s Drawing Board

Local Education /

19 hours ago

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 6 Shutout Innings Help Dodgers Finish Sweep, Defeat Nats 2-1

20 hours ago

The 49ers Add Florida Receiver Ricky Pearsall With the 30th Draft Pick

20 hours ago

Political Stunt, Egg on His Face, Personal Vendetta. Who’s Fresno DA Talking About?

20 hours ago

California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence

A state senator says there’s a “hidden homicide” epidemic of killers making domestic violence murders look like suicides or accidents. Her b...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

California Legislation Wants to Uncover the ‘Hidden Homicides’ of Domestic Violence

4 hours ago

The Summer After Barbenheimer and the Strikes, Hollywood Charts a New Course

17 hours ago

Fresno Oops? Garbage Hike Protest Vote Delayed by Error

17 hours ago

Trump’s Potential VP Pick Boasts About Executing Puppy

17 hours ago

Trita Parsi: Blind Support for Israel Erodes Western Democracies

18 hours ago

Fresno Trash Hauler’s Response to Overpayments: We Followed the City’s Rules

18 hours ago

Which Six QBs Were Selected in the Top 12 of the NFL Draft?

18 hours ago

Nuggets Close to Sweeping Lakers After Game 3 Win

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend