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Iran Guard Strikes Iraq Kurdish Groups 09/26 07:09
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard on
Monday unleashed a wave of drone strikes and artillery, targeting what Tehran
says are bases of Iranian Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq, a semiofficial
news agency reported.
It was the second such cross-border assault since the weekend, at a time
when Iran is convulsing with protests over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian
Kurdish woman who was been detained by the nation's morality police.
On Saturday, the Guard said it targeted bases and training camps of Kurdish
separatist groups in northern Iraq, claiming it inflicted serious damage.
Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini have spread across at least 46
cities, towns and villages. Iranian state TV has suggested that at least 41
protesters and police have been killed since the protests began Sept. 17. An
Associated Press count of official statements by authorities tallied at least
13 dead, with more than 1,200 demonstrators arrested.
In Monday's report, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency said the Guard's
attacks were in response for the support that the separatists have allegedly
provided for the unrest inside Iran, as well as their attempts to smuggle in
weapons.
Last year, the Guard similarly attacked what it called bases of "terrorist
groups" in northern Iraq.
There was no immediate comment from the Iraqi government. The two
neighboring countries have close political and military ties, and Tehran had
provided extensive military support for Baghdad, during its yearslong war
against the extremist Islamic State group.
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