Iran continues missile attack on Iraq’s Kurdistan

Iran yesterday renewed its artillery attacks on Iraqi villages and border towns north of the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, causing fires in forest areas and other material damages and displacing dozens of families.

Kurdish media outlets quoted security sources in the Peshmerga as saying that “the Iranian artillery shelling targeted the Horani area within the Soran district, north of Erbil” without causing casualties.

The Iraqi-Kurdish security sources said the new attack also targeted the Sidekan and Balkayti sub-districts of the Soran district, north of Erbil.

According to the same sources, the Iranian artillery shelling targeted the vicinity of the village of Saqar and the Barzein region, as well as the villages of Kostansirek, Halkurt and Burma Sardi in the regions of Sidekan also known as Bradost and Balkayti.

For days, the Iranian artillery has been shelling Kurdish cities and villages north of Erbil under the pretext of targeting sites of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and parties based in Iraq whom Tehran accuses of orchestrating the new wave anti-government protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who died in police custody on 16 September.

The Iranian shelling has so far killed 18 people and wounded 62, including women and children and caused the forced displacement of the residents of six villages, who fled fearing for their lives.

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