Eight Iranian Border Guards Killed in Clash with Armed Group in Chaldoran

In a clash between Iranian border forces and an armed opposition group to the Islamic Republic on Friday, November 3, in the border region of Chaldoran in West Azerbaijan province, eight Iranian border guards were killed. According to the state news agency IRNA, Alireza Radfar, the political-security deputy governor of West Azerbaijan, announced that three officers and five soldiers from the border regiment were killed in this clash. Mr. Radfar also stated that 'heavy casualties were inflicted on the terrorists' and that the pursuit of them continues. The deputy governor did not provide further details about the clash. The Mehr news agency reported that this clash occurred in the 'Babanoor' area and that the deceased were members of the Khoy border regiment. This news agency also reported that another clash occurred 'between the border forces' of Urmia and armed opposition groups, but officials have not yet confirmed it. The Islamic Republic refers to its armed opposition groups in the western provinces of Iran, including armed Kurdish parties, as 'terrorist groups'; however, these groups claim that the purpose of their armed conflict with the Islamic Republic is 'to defend the rights of Kurds.' The Kurdish opposition parties have not yet responded to reports about this clash. The Chaldoran region is located in the northwest of West Azerbaijan province and has previously been the scene of clashes between the armed forces of the Islamic Republic, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and armed militants. For instance, the public relations office of the IRGC Ground Forces announced on Thursday, October 26, that their forces killed four members of an armed opposition group in a clash. The IRGC's announcement did not specify which of the armed opposition groups these four belonged to. In August, the commander of the IRGC Ground Forces reported the destruction of an armed group in the 'border region of West Azerbaijan' during a clash with IRGC forces, but the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan at that time stated that its forces had dealt a 'fatal blow' to the IRGC. Earlier, the Komala Party had reported that in a clash with IRGC forces on June 23, three of its members and several IRGC forces were killed. Ten days later, news sources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq reported that Iranian military forces shelled areas of this region, injuring three people. Following this, the autonomous government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq summoned the Iranian consul in Erbil and protested against the shelling of these areas.