IRGC Claims Responsibility for Missile Attack on Kurdistan Democratic Party Headquarters

On Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement regarding the missile attack on the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Koy Sanjaq, Iraq, claiming responsibility for the attack. The statement indicated that the IRGC's Aerospace Force, in collaboration with the Ground Force's drone unit, targeted the location where leaders of one of these groups were meeting, along with an associated training center, using seven short-range surface-to-surface missiles. The statement referred to the targeted location as a 'center of conspiracy against Iran's national security' and warned that any repetition of operations by the armed group stationed there would be met with 'harder and more crushing responses.' According to Radio Farda's correspondent in Iraq, the missile attacks on the KDP headquarters, led by Mustafa Maloudi, occurred early Saturday during a meeting of the party's central committee. Kurdish network Kurdistan24 reported that the death toll from the attacks was 14, with at least 40 others injured. A committee from the KDP stated that several central committee members, including Kermani Mahdavi, Ebrahim Ebrahim, Nasrin Haddad, Rahman Pirouti, and Soheila Ghaderi, were killed, along with three members of the Kurdish Peshmerga. The news agency Tabnak reported that the attacks were launched from 'a base near Urmia.' The IRGC's statement claimed that the targeted group was seeking to disrupt security and tranquility in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah, referencing multiple recent border clashes in these provinces. Fars news agency recently reported that, according to available statistics, there have been 10 operations by opponents in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah in the past month, resulting in the deaths of 24 military and law enforcement personnel. Following the announcement of the missile attack, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq issued a statement condemning the 'airstrikes by the Islamic Republic against the political offices of the KDP.' The statement described the use of the region's territory for conducting attacks on neighboring countries as 'unacceptable' and a cause of instability in the area. According to Kurdish media reports, the regional government has requested that its laws be respected and that the area not become a battleground. The television network Rudaw reported that Fuad Masum, the President of Iraq, expressed 'deep sorrow and concern' in a statement released by his office. Mr. Masum stated that 'excessive use of force is not an effective substitute for peace negotiations.' He also praised the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran for understanding the impact of opening dialogue and recognizing national forces in securing the interests of the people and neighboring countries. According to the state news agency IRNA, Nazem Dabbagh, the representative of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in Iran, stated that the missile attack was in response to recent actions by the KDP in the cities of Marivan and Oshnavieh. Mr. Dabbagh added, 'So far, I have not received any official and credible news from the regional government or the Islamic Republic, and all my information is from the media.' Since 2016, following the announcement by armed Kurdish opposition parties regarding the deployment of their military forces 'on a larger scale' and in 'more areas' of Iranian Kurdistan, clashes between them and the IRGC have increased. The Islamic Republic refers to armed opposition groups in the western provinces of Iran, including armed Kurdish parties, as 'terrorist groups' or 'counter-revolutionaries.' These groups describe their armed struggle against the Islamic Republic as 'defending the rights of Kurds.'