Kurdistan
Image of security forces arriving on the Sulaimani-Dukan road after a vehicle explosion that killed two passengers. Photo: Rudaw/screengrab
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two members of an Iranian Kurdish opposition party were killed on Wednesday afternoon when their vehicle exploded on the Sulaimani-Duhok road, multiple sources confirmed to Rudaw.
The victims were reportedly Peshmerga fighters affiliated with the Komala of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan (Shorshger).
According to a source from the Komala party, the men were traveling in a Toyota Land Cruiser when the vehicle detonated.
Karzan Sherko, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Security Agency (Asayish) in Sulaimani, said that following an investigation, it was determined that the "incident was a car accident."
Sirwan Lala Sarhad, mayor of Duhok district, told Rudaw that the vehicle was bulletproof.
Bakir Abdulkarem, mayor of Piramagrun district, near where the explosion occurred, said the vehicle was carrying munitions at the time of the blast.
The Komala of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan is a left-wing Iranian political party and armed group founded in 1969 by Kurdish university students.
Last year, Iraq took measures against Iranian Kurdish opposition parties at Tehran’s request. In May, Iranian media reported that Iraq’s National Security Council formally banned all political, media, and social activities of opposition groups operating within its borders, including in the Kurdistan Region.
Shorshger, along with other Iranian Kurdish parties, was subsequently required to relocate from its headquarters to other areas of Sulaimani province under an agreement between Baghdad and Tehran.
Updated at 10:25pm
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