As the war between the US and Iran continues, Kurdish armed groups from neighboring Iraq have reportedly entered the conflict. According to an Israeli news channel, 24,000 Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party have launched a ground offensive against Iran.
An Iraqi Kurdish group launched a ground operation inside Iran on Monday, March 2, according to an official of the Coalition of Iranian Kurdistan Political Forces.
Kurds Join US-Iran War
The official further told i24 that PJAK fighters have moved into positions around the southern Mariwan Mountains in western Iran, and others have been deployed in the Zagros Mountains in the northwest of the country, along the border with Iraq.
Read also | The CIA is working to arm Kurdish militant groups for ground operations in Iran
Kurdish officials also told the AP that Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq were preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US had asked Iraqi Kurds to support them.
Iran attacked a Kurdish group in Iraq
Meanwhile, Iran has denied reports of armed Kurdish fighters crossing into the country from Iraq. Iran also claimed to have launched an operation targeting “anti-Iranian separatist forces” in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.
Iran’s state-run Press TV released several videos purporting to show explosions lighting up the night sky during the operation.
While the location of the attacks was not revealed, a senior leader of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, told AFP that one of their men was killed in an attack in an area near Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.
There are also reports that the headquarters of the Kurdish Toilers Association, an Iranian Kurdish armed group in Iraq, was targeted in Sulaimaniyah province.
The IRGC’s public relations office announced that its “missile units successfully targeted and hit Komala bases and counter-revolutionary groups with three missiles at 11:00 a.m.”
Who are the Kurds?
The Kurds are a stateless ethnic group located in the Kurdistan region of Western Asia, encompassing Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
In Iraq and Syria, the Kurds have some level of semi-autonomy over their region, while in other countries there are separatist movements aimed at creating a unified Kurdistan.
Read also | Kurdish separatist group PKK is laying down its arms after decades of bloodshed – here’s why
Iran has designated Kurdish opposition groups that previously fought its security forces in areas along the Kurdish-majority border as terrorist organizations.
Last month, five Kurdish armed groups announced a political coalition to seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran and ultimately secure Kurdish self-determination.
Why the US wants the Kurds to fight Iran
If Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into battle. Kurdish groups have combat experience from fighting the Islamic State group.
The development comes after US media reported that the CIA was in talks with Iranian Kurdish armed groups to launch a ground invasion in Iran and spread further unrest in the country by inciting public protests.
According to reports, top US leaders, including President Donald Trump himself, have spoken with Iranian Kurdish armed groups.
According to Reuters, Iran’s Kurdish coalition of groups based on the Iran-Iraq border has been training to carry out such an attack in hopes of weakening the country’s military.
Key things
- The operation by Kurdish fighters marks a significant escalation in the regional conflict involving Iran and Iraq.
- US involvement and support for Kurdish groups could affect the dynamics of the conflict.
- The situation reflects the ongoing struggle for Kurdish self-determination and regional autonomy.
