Five Basij Forces Killed in Clash with PJAK in Kurdistan Province

The deputy commander of the Quds Force in Kurdistan Province announced that five members of the Basij forces from Kamyaran County were killed on Tuesday evening, August 20, in a "severe clash" with the forces of the PJAK group (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan). According to the state news agency IRNA, Ibrahim Hosseini stated that the PJAK group attacked the Basij forces for what he described as "revenge" for the Iranian forces' attack on the group's base in the northwestern border area of the country. Hosseini mentioned that the Islamic Republic had "repeatedly" warned PJAK to evacuate the base, but the group "ignored" these warnings, leading to an eventual attack and "capture" of the base by Iranian forces. He added, "We knew that in a tactical operation, they would take revenge for our action." The deputy commander did not specify the date of the Iranian forces' attack on the PJAK base. Hosseini's statements come as the Farat News website, associated with PJAK, reported that it is still unclear whether the Basij forces were killed in the clash with PJAK. Meanwhile, shortly after publishing its report, IRNA removed the name of PJAK and details of the Iranian forces' attack on the group's base, stating only that the Basij forces were killed in a clash with "anti-revolutionary elements." According to IRNA, the five Basij members killed were identified as Payman Vaisi, Zanyar Sahraei, Gholam Rahmani, Milad Derakhshan, and Arash Nasiri. Last week, Alireza Ashnagar, the governor of Kurdistan, confirmed an attack by PJAK's military branch on a post in Marivan, stating that there were "some random shots fired at the post's guard" and that there were no casualties. However, PJAK claimed that several Iranian agents were killed in this attack and stated that it was carried out in retaliation for the IRGC's attack on its members and the "clear violation of the ceasefire." Days before this clash, reports emerged regarding confrontations between the IRGC and PJAK forces near the village of "Cham Zareh" in the "Thalas and Babajani" villages of Kermanshah Province, resulting in the deaths of several PJAK members. Meanwhile, human rights media reported on Sunday, August 18, the execution of Sirwan Najavi, a Kurdish prisoner previously sentenced to death for membership in PJAK by the Revolutionary Court in Mahabad. In recent weeks, some Iranian media have accused the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of attacking an Iranian bus, attacking the Ankara-Tehran train, and blowing up the gas pipeline from Iran to Turkey.