ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A key base linked to the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) dissident group near Erbil was struck by an Iranian missile on Sunday, a party official told Rudaw, adding that no casualties were recorded and that the attack marks one of the dozens the group has endured since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February.
“Our headquarters near Darashakran [northwest of Erbil] was hit with an Iranian missile at 5:54 am [local time],” said PAK spokesperson Khalil Kani Sanani.
The base belongs to PAK’s armed wing, the Kurdistan National Army, Kani Sanani confirmed, noting that the same site had also been attacked last week with at least four missiles and several bomb-laden drones, which left nine wounded, including four fighters in critical condition.
“PAK has been attacked between 50 and 60 times since the beginning of the [Iran] war,” he further added, attributing the missile attacks to Iranian forces, while noting that the drones are launched by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq.
The US and Israel launched a large-scale aerial campaign against Iran in late February, striking thousands of targets across the country during six weeks of hostilities.
In response, Iran carried out thousands of drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.
The Iranian response also included operations by factions aligned with the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance,’ involving armed groups in Iraq that claimed numerous attacks against alleged US targets in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Tehran and its allied factions have also ramped up its attacks on Kurdish dissident groups in the Region.
According to Rudaw tracking up to May 21, the Kurdistan Region has endured approximately 855 drone and missile attacks since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, resulting in at least 20 deaths and nearly 130 injuries.
In a separate but related incident, a drone struck a village northeast of Erbil on Sunday.
Halgurd Sheikh Najib, head of the Soran independent administration, told Rudaw that “a drone crashed near a civilian home in a nearby village,” noting that “the source of the drone is unknown” and that “because the drone failed to detonate, there were no casualties.”