Iran shelling targets in Iraqi Kurdistan, US condemns the attack

At the same time, White House keeps intense silence about invasion of Turkish forces

Iran carried out attacks on Kurds in Iraq late Sunday night, local authorities in the Iraqi city of Erbil say. The anti-terrorism organization of Iraqi Kurdistan states that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has “bombed offices of Kurdish parties in the city.” This is the second time in a week that such attacks on targets in Erbil have taken place from Iran.

The United States condemned the attacks on Monday morning (Dutch time). The country did so via a tweet from Centcom, the US Department of Defense’s command center that focuses on the Middle East.

Among other things, the Office of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) was, according to that party itself, the target of Iranian missiles and drones. Iran accuses the Kurds in neighboring Iraq of fueling recent protests in Iran. The country has been very troubled for weeks. Hundreds of demonstrators have been killed in the crackdown and thousands arrested.

The protests began after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after her arrest by Iran’s religious police. She would not have adhered to the dress code for women in the country. The protesters are furious about the police violence and demand more women’s rights. They call for the departure of the authoritarian Shiite regime in Iran.

However, in Iranian cities where many Kurds live, security forces are acting more and more harshly. Earlier on Sunday, Norway-based human rights group Hengaw reported that military helicopters had transported members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to the city of Mahabad. According to Hengaw, at least four people were killed in putting down the protests there.

The Revolutionary Guard recognizes that it has “strengthened” its forces in the Kurdish region of Iran, but does not report deaths.

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