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Iraq
Landmine explosion kills shepherd on Kurdistan Region-Iran border
2023-06-22
[Rudaw] A landmine explosion in an Erbil town on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
claimed the life of a 65-year-old shepherd on Sunday.

Mamand Hamadamin was herding his sheep along the mountainous areas of Haji Omaran before stepping on a landmine which went kaboom! and immediately took his life. He had fallen victim to the area’s mines in the past as well, losing one of his legs in the incident.

Rabar Anwar, media head for the Mine Action Agency’s branch in Erbil, told Rudaw that the body will be sent for examination at the Soran forensics department.

Iraq and the Kurdistan Region suffer from large numbers of landmines that remain scattered across the country to this day due to the Iran-Iraq war, the 1991 Gulf War, the 2003 invasion by the US-led coalition, and the occupation of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) in 2014.

A vast area scattered with landmines needs to be cleared, otherwise it will continue to claim lives and leave civilians with long-term disabilities if not thoroughly cleaned.

The United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in April 2022 that over 519 children had been killed or injured in Iraq in the previous five years from explosive ordnance, adding that landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) remain one of the leading threats to children in the country.

There are around 3,000 minefields in the Kurdistan Region. Around 2,700 people have been killed by landmines and 10,800 others maimed or maimed since the 1990s, according to the Mine Action Agency.
Related:
Haji Omaran: 2022-07-02 Iran, Iraq swap remains of 45 soldiers killed in war
Haji Omaran: 2021-09-30 Iran builds military outpost on Cheekha Dar mountain, highest peak in Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Haji Omaran: 2020-08-25 Iran Guards say three US-linked infiltrators killed
Link


Iraq
Iran, Iraq swap remains of 45 soldiers killed in war
2022-07-02
“Mostly what we find are stray ears, lips, and belly buttons, but where there’s an actual body we do our best to return it.”
[Rudaw] Iraq and Iran
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
exchanged the remains of 45 soldiers who were victims of the devastating war fought between the two countries, a humanitarian organization said on Thursday.

The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) in Iraq said Iraq received the remains of nine soldiers found in Iranian territory, while Iran returned the remains of 36 soldiers with the support of ICRC.

The transfer took place at the Shalamcheh border crossing between the two countries, according to ICRC’s statement.

Iraq and Iran fought a devastating war more than three decades ago, from 1980 to 1988, during which around one million lives from each side were lost due to the conflict.

Tehran and Baghdad in 2008 signed an agreement under the ICRC auspices regarding the exchange of information and handing over remains of missing persons during the war. The remains of hundreds of soldiers have been returned since then.

"More than 30 years have passed since the end of the armed conflict between Iraq and Iran, and thousands of families are still unaware of the fate of their loved ones," ICRC stated, adding that it will continue to assist all parties by providing them with answers they need.

ICRC mentioned that the victims' names will be published by the Iraqi defense ministry, as with every exchange. The ministry has not published the names as of yet.

The remains of a Christian Iraqi soldier who died during the Iraq-Iran war were uncovered by a farmer in Erbil's Haji Omaran subdistrict last month and handed to his family, more than three decades after he was declared missing in action.

In February, a Kurdish soldier killed during the war had his body returned to his family after being missing in Iran for almost 35 years.
Link


Iraq
Iran builds military outpost on Cheekha Dar mountain, highest peak in Kurdistan Region, Iraq
2021-09-30
[Rudaw] Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has recently built a military outpost on the peak of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s highest mountain, locals say.

Cheekha Dar mountain in northern Erbil province, located 15 kilometers northwest of the Haji Omaran border crossing with Iran, stands at 3,611 meters. It is close to Mount Halgurd, which stands at 3,607 meters high.

Iran has recently took control of the mountain peak and fenced it with barbed wire, building roads leading to it from Iran.

Mountain climbers used to recreationally climb the mountain.

"Not only the people of Kurdistan, but foreigners asked us to take them to the Cheekha Dar mountain," said Salar Ismael, a mountaineer. "We used to climb Cheekha Dar and measure its height. It’s higher than Mount Halgurd."

Local officials say Iran has defacto annexed the territory between it and the border.

"The 57th and 40th land plots are Iraqi territory, but Iran built a wall and included the two plots within its borders," Abdulwahab Mahmood, mayor of Haji Omaran, told Rudaw.

"The presence of Iraq’s border guards is not good enough. They lack logistical capabilities. Even with the presence of the Support Forces 1 [of Peshmerga], these areas can be controlled, but a large portion of the border areas are outside the control of the Kurdistan Region and Iraqi border guards. As a result, Iran has trespassed on the territory," he added.

Iraq and Iran have discussed reviewing their border over the past six months.

"This is a matter between two countries and not an internal Iraqi matter, we might act in case anything happens," said Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, front man for Iraq's Joint Operation Command. "However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
dialogue and those allowed to hold this dialogue is definitely the Iraqi government and the foreign ministry, but work is being done on this matter and we are in continuous contact with them."

Local officials tell Rudaw that Iran has built dozens of military outposts in the border areas of Pishdar, Choman and Sidakan.
Related:
Pishdar: 2021-08-25 Turkey carries out large air operation in eastern Sulaimani
Pishdar: 2021-02-04 Turkish warbirds pound Kurd Kommies in Sulaimani province
Related:
Choman: 2021-09-12 Kurdish villagers fear for safety as Iran bombs Erbil's mountains for a third day
Choman: 2021-04-28 Only 260 square kilometers remain uncleared of landmines out of original 776 sq km in the Kurdistan Region: official
Choman: 2021-03-13 One Peshmerga killed, one wounded in Sidakan boom
Related:
Sidakan: 2021-09-12 Kurdish villagers fear for safety as Iran bombs Erbil's mountains for a third day
Sidakan: 2021-04-19 One person injured in explosion in Erbil’s Sidakan: mayor
Sidakan: 2021-03-20 Turkish aircraft targets civilian vehicle in Sidakan, injuring two
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran Guards say three US-linked infiltrators killed
2020-08-25
[AlAhram] The Guards said the gang was 'affiliated with the global arrogance
That'd be us. They get tired of bitching about the Great Satan sometimes.
,' a term the Islamic republic uses for its arch enemy the United States.


Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday that its forces killed three button men with links to the United States who tried to infiltrate its territory in the country's far northwest.

"Last night, a counter-revolutionary terrorist group... got caught up in an intelligence web of (Guards) fighters in the Maku public area," the Guards' Sepahnews website reported.

They said the group had "intended to penetrate deep into our country" but added that all three were killed during festivities.

"Significant quantities of weapons, equipment, ammunition and communication systems were seized."

The Maku area is a slither of land in West Azerbaijan province located less than 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Iran's far northwestern border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
Iran's west and northwest areas have seen sporadic festivities between its forces and Kurdish rebels in past years.
Oooohhhhh... they didn’t kill Americans, they killed Kurds. Got it.
On May 29, three Iranian border guards were killed in one such clash with "armed bad boys" in West Azerbaijan province.
That lot were said to be PJAK, associated with the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). So maybe today’s were, too.
Related:
West Azerbaijan province: 2020-05-31 Three Iranian soldiers killed in clashes along border
West Azerbaijan province: 2019-08-29 IRGC kills two members of a Kurdish opposition group in western Iran
West Azerbaijan province: 2019-07-03 Iran's Guards kill two militants on Iraqi borders region
Related:
PJAK: 2020-06-26 Iranian forces involved in heavy clashes along Iraqi border
PJAK: 2020-06-18 Iran and Turkey conduct military operations in Haji Omaran for second day straight: officials
PJAK: 2020-05-31 Three Iranian soldiers killed in clashes along border
Link


Iraq
Iran strikes Kurdish opposition party base in Kurdistan Region territory
2020-08-04
[Rudaw] Unmanned Iranian drones and artillery shells struck a number of bases belonging to a Kurdish opposition group in Erbil province on Monday, an official affiliated with the group confirmed, with no casualties reported.

The strikes hit the mountainous Barbzin area of Erbil, close to the Kurdistan Region-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
border, the head of the Kurdistan Peshmerga Command — affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) armed opposition group — told Rudaw.

"The unmanned drones targeted our bases with missiles causing no casualties," said official Kawa Bahrami.

Monday's shelling comes six weeks after both Iranian artillery and Ottoman Turkish drones struck Erbil province's Haji Omaran district bordering Iran — just days after The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
launched its continuing air and ground campaign on suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases within Kurdistan Region borders.

Since 2016, a number of the Iranian Kurdish parties including the PDKI have transferred their bases from populated areas of the Kurdistan Region to the border with Iran. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has called on armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups not to launch attacks against neighboring countries from Kurdistan Region territory.

Local civilian Fakhir Taha told Rudaw via telephone that "a number of cowherders who are out letting their animals graze are stuck."

Ibrahim Nadir, a cowherder who had put his animals out to pasture in Barbzin, told Rudaw via telephone that he saw "Iranian artillery shells hit a [KDPI's] base."

"I saw a vehicle leaving the base. I'm not sure if it was rushing out the injured or not," Nadir said.

"We're safe and sound, but scared of the artillery shelling. We're stuck in hiding," he added.
Related:
Erbil: 2020-08-01 Human trafficking on the rise in Kurdistan Region
Erbil: 2020-07-23 Turkish bombs scorch grazing land, wild animals in Barzan: local officials
Erbil: 2020-07-18 Iraq army commander killed in terror attack north of Baghdad: Security Media Cell
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Two IRGC militiamen killed in clash with Kurdish group in western Iran
2020-07-18
[Rudaw] Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says two members from one of their forces were killed Wednesday evening in an attack in western Iran’s Hawraman region.

The Hamza Sayyid al-Shuhada command center of the IRGC, responsible for parts of Iran’s Kurdish areas, said in a statement that, "on the evening of Wednesday near the village of Belbar in Hawraman region of Sarvabad a member of the Mobilisation Resistance® Force [Basij] alongside an employee of the municipality" ...were targeted by agents of a "terrorist" group. Both men were killed and another individual was maimed, reports the security apparatus, which later clarified that both men were Basijis, or members of a paramilitary force affiliated with the IRGC.

A Kurdish organization says that the basijis were killed in a clash between the IRGC and members of a Kurdish armed opposition group.

No Kurdish group has grabbed credit for the attack.

The IRGC has taken an increasingly offensive stance toward Kurdish guerrilla groups by installing thousands of additional troops to seal off its porous western border with Iraq, and digging thousands of kilometers of new dirt roads atop mountain peaks overlooking Kurdish areas.

In response to the increased presence, snuffies have stepped up attacks against Iranian security forces. A group of button men ambushed a senior IRGC commander in western Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on May 5, killing him and two of his guards. The brazen attack was carried out in broad daylight in Divandareh, in the heart of Kurdistan province — one of the most heavily militarized areas in the country.

The IRGC has in recent times attacked and threatened to attack Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

A few days after the IRGC launched Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s against targets the Haji Omaran area of the Kurdistan Region, which borders Iran late last month, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, the top ground force commander of Iran, announced the commencement of a drill in Iran’s Kurdistan province.
Link


Iraq
Turkey, Iraq should collaborate to defeat PKK, while Iran should only ‘respect’ Iraqi sovereignty: US state department
2020-07-09
[Rudaw] The US position on recent Ottoman Turkish and Iranian military operations targeting suspected bad boy locations in the Kurdistan Region differs, according to statements made Wednesday by a State Department spokesperson.

While the US urges both Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
to respect Iraq’s illusory sovereignty, it only encourages the latter to coordinate with the governments of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to defeat gunnies operating in the area.

"We recognize the legitimate security threat the [Kurdistan Workers' Party] PKK poses to Turkey and we urge Turkey to pursue joint counterterrorism cooperation with Iraq in a way that supports Iraqi illusory sovereignty," a spokesperson told Rudaw Wednesday over email.

Saying the US is aware of reports of Iranian Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in the Kurdistan Region and is closely monitoring the situation, the spokesperson added: "Iran must respect Iraq's illusory sovereignty, end its interference in Iraq's internal matters, and refrain from destabilizing behavior."

Turkey began sustained air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq's disputed territories in mid-June, with the stated aim of removing suspected PKK targets from the area. Five civilians have been killed in the operations.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also launched airstrikes in coordination with Turkey in the Kurdistan Region last month, shelling the Haji Omaran area, which borders Iran. Media outlets close to the the IRGC said Turkey and Iran agreed to jointly fight what they called Kurdistan Region-based cross-border "terrorism".

"The United States is prepared to facilitate and support a coordinated approach on this issue, as we continue to believe sustainable security solutions can only be achieved through cooperation," added the spokesperson, which stressed the importance of coordination between all parties additionally working to counter the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) group.

"Ultimately, areas like Sinjar [Shingal] need to come under the full control of the federal government and its security forces, in coordination with the KRG, so that the PKK and other militias and groups cannot promote their own agendas. This instability is keeping hundreds of thousands of ISIS genocide victims from returning home."

Currently based in the Qandil Mountains along the Turkey-Kurdistan Region-Iran borders, the PKK is an gang that fights for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. Decades of fighting with Turkey has led to the death of tens of thousands, including civilians.

Both Erbil and Baghdad have repeatedly called on Ankara to halt its attacks, and have demanded the PKK withdraw from their territory.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard...
various Kurdish groups are present in the mountainous border area between Iran and the Kurdistan Region. Sporadic attacks are launched each year against various Iranian forces, including the IRGC.
Link


Iraq
Shepherd killed amid Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq: local official
2020-06-19
[Rudaw] A shepherd was found dead on Thursday as northern Iraq comes under assault from both Turkish airstrikes and Iranian artillery fire over the past two days, a local official has informed Rudaw.

"At 11 am on Wednesday, Turkish jets struck the Khinera area in Sidakan sub-district, killing a shepherd named Abbas Maghdid, aged 30," Ihsan Chalabi, mayor of the district of Sidakan told Rudaw on Thursday.

Sidakan and Haji Omaran, two remote towns near Iran’s border with the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil province, have been bombarded by Turkish and Iranian strikes in recent days as part of a combined aerial and ground-based assault aimed at targeting suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the region.

“In the first 36 hours of the operation, Turkish forces hit over 500 targets of the PKK terror group in the region,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported Thursday.

The slain shepherd, from the town of Harir, is the first reported civilian casualty in the recent Turkish offensive into northern Iraq. Chalabi said that the shepherd's family members became concerned when he did not return from grazing with his sheep and went out to search for him. “He had gone out to graze his sheep when the Turkish airstrikes hit the spot," Chalabi said.

"There has been no shelling or airstrikes on the area today," Maasuma Hamad Amin, a local resident of Sidakan, told Rudaw on Thursday.

Although farmers are not party to the conflict, they have been caught in its crosshairs economically, and have fled their villages under the roar of air strikes. Eight villages have been emptied of their residents along northern Iraq’s border with Turkey, near the Kurdistan Region border town of Zakho.

Of the 264 villages part of the Sidakan district, 118 have been emptied due to Turkish airstrikes and Iranian artillery targeting guerillas of the PKK and other Kurdish insurgent groups.

For decades, both the PKK and Turkish forces have set up military installations along the Turkey-Iraq border. The rough, mountainous region is home mostly to poor farmers who struggle to earn a living. These mountains are also home to an untold number of guerrillas of the PKK, who for years have used the Qandil Mountains area as a base of operations. But with their presence comes the threat of attacks by Turkish forces, which have frightened and sometimes threatened local villagers.

Turkish observation posts and military bases are just seven kilometres from the center of Sidakan, district mayor Chalabi told Rudaw. "Very few nights pass without hearing the hover of Turkey's warplanes overhead," according to the mayor. Chalabi also claimed that since 2017, aerial bombings and mortar shellings have killed seven civilians, and wounded another ten in Sidakan.

Farzang Ahmed, mayor of the town of Haji Omaran told Rudaw on Wednesday that residents have formed a joint committee of civil defense, medical teams and police, that is on alert in case of injuries or emergencies.

Iranian and Turkish officials have not officially stated the simultaneous offensives are in coordination, but they reiterated their “commitment to fight terrorism" at a meeting in Ankara on Monday between their foreign ministers.

In recent years, Iran has taken increasingly aggressive measures against clandestine Kurdish opposition groups by digging thousands of kilometers of new dirt roads atop mountain peaks overlooking Kurdish areas, installing thousands of additional troops to seal off its porous western border with Iraq.

After several lethal clashes with Kurdish insurgents in western Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has repeatedly threatened retaliation, and in May, a group of gunmen ambushed a senior IRGC commander of in broad daylight, killing him and two of his guards in Divandareh, in Iran’s Kurdistan province.

A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, told Rudaw on Wednesday that none of its members have been harmed in the shelling.

Baghdad has twice summoned its ambassador to Turkish to protest the airstrikes on Tuesday and issued a formal memorandum, Iraq's foreign ministry said Thursday. Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes and ground operations against suspected PKK positions inside northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, at times killing civilians in the region.
Link


Iraq
Iran and Turkey conduct military operations in Haji Omaran for second day straight: officials
2020-06-18
[Rudaw] A second day of Iranian shelling, as well as Ottoman Turkish drone flight, was reported over the area of Alana in Erbil province's Haji Omaran district bordering Iran, local officials and witnesses said on Wednesday, after media outlets close to the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
and Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
agreed to jointly fight what they called Kurdistan Region-based cross-border "terrorism".

"The artillery shelling started at 9:05 am, lasting for 15 minutes and hitting the area ten times," Alana village resident Maasuma Hamad Amin told Rudaw. "The bombing has sparked fear among locals."

Footage submitted by Amin purportedly shows the very moment Iranian artillery shelling struck the mountainous border area.

According to Haji Omaran mayor Farzang Ahmed, Iranian shelling is specifically targeting Alana's Baraskan heights.

Due to the shelling, "nomadic families have fled the region," Ahmed said, adding that the damage it has caused is not yet known.

Local authorities have established a committee of "civil defense, medical teams and police, in order to be on alert in case of injuries and any possible fire," Ahmed said.

According to another local official, Iranian shelling is occurring at the same time as Ottoman Turkish operation in the area. Turkey launched a major air operation against suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in the Kurdistan Region on Monday, followed by a ground operation in the Haftanin area of the Kurdistan Region in the early hours of Wednesday.

"Ottoman Turkish unmanned drones are spotted hovering overhead at the same time," Alana village chieftain Abdulla Hussein said.

The area has previously been subject to Iranian artillery shelling that targets Iranian Kurdish opposition groups nestled in the Kurdistan Region-Iran border area. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has called on Iranian Kurdish gangs not to launch attacks against neighboring countries from Kurdistan Region territory.

Though official Iranian state outlets have not yet said anything about the shelling, it has been reported by platforms affiliated by the IRGC, who say it is targeting Kurdish guerilla groups.

"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has shelled positions of groups of PJAK and PKK in northern Iraq. In these attacks the areas of Alana Valley, Keli Ghazal and Barda Soran near the border area of Haji Omaran were targeted by the artillery of the IRGC," reported the IRGC-affiliated ISWNEWS.

"It is reported that hours before the [IRGC strikes] the Ottoman Turkish jets bombed the same area, however official sources have not confirmed the joint operation of the two countries," the ISWNEWS report added.

Bita Wan, a news website close to the IRGC said the same-day attacks came after Turkey and Iran mutally agreed to fight "terrorism".

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values...
and his Ottoman Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu met in Ankara on Monday, reiterating their commitment to fight "terrorism" amongst a host of other issues.
Link


Iraq
Turkey launches ground operation against suspected PKK positions in Kurdistan Region's Haftanin region
2020-06-18
[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
has deployed commando forces to the Haftanin area of the Kurdistan Region against suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) positions in the area, the Ottoman Turkish defense ministry announced in the early hours of Wednesday.

The ground operation, dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger, was being carried out due to "recently attempted increased harassment and attacks on our cop shoppe and base areas," the defense ministry statement read.

The ministry called Claw-Tiger "part of our legitimate defense rights arising from international law, oriented against the PKK and other terrorist elements."

Ottoman Turkish commando entry into the Kurdistan Region was supported by the Air Force, ATAK helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), the defense ministry said in a separate statement.

PKK-linked Firat News Agency described the commando attack as a "black operation".

Today's attacks come two days after Turkey announced the launch of Operation Claw-Eagle, a campaign of aerial bombardment targeting suspected PKK bases in the Makhmour, Qarachogh, Mount Qandil, Khuakurk, and Zap areas of the Kurdistan Region, as well as Shingal in northern Iraq's Nineveh province.

In what local officials say is an unprecedented move by Ankara, Ottoman Turkish Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s pounded the the Haji Omaran area on the Kurdistan Region's border with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on Tuesday.

Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes and ground operations in the Kurdistan Region, against what it says are positions belonging to the PKK, an gang that fights for greater political rights for Kurds in Turkey.

A mayor of the Haftanin town of Batifa told Rudaw on Wednesday that the obstacles caused by the "relentless" violence of Turkey-PKK festivities means local officials are unable to assess losses.

"Because of the PKK-Turkey conflict, there are many villages where we cannot go to, to construct and extend services to them," Abdulsatar added.

Both Erbil and Baghdad have repeatedly called on Ankara to halt its attacks, and have demanded the PKK withdraw from their territory. Baghdad summoned its Ottoman Turkish ambassador to protest the airstrikes on Tuesday, issuing him a formal memorandum, according to Iraq's foreign ministry.

"This invitation, like the previous ones, was a new occasion to emphasize that "we will continue to fight the PKK wherever it is, unless Iraq takes steps to end the PKK presence in its country," Yildiz tweeted after the meeting.
Related:
Haftanin: 2020-06-17 Turkish ground forces are invading entering Haftanin in northern Iraq as a part of newly announced Claw-Tiger
Haftanin: 2020-03-29 Turkey ‘neutralizes’ 8 PKK fighters in Duhok
Haftanin: 2020-03-26 PKK mortar attack kills two Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan Region: Turkish defense ministry
Related:
Claw-Tiger: 2020-06-17 Turkish ground forces are invading entering Haftanin in northern Iraq as a part of newly announced Claw-Tiger
Link


Iraq
Turkish airstrikes, Iranian artillery simultaneously pound Kurdistan Region border area
2020-06-17
[Rudaw] Iranian artillery shells and Ottoman Turkish Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s simultaneously pounded the Haji Omaran area on the Kurdistan Region's border with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
on Tuesday, local officials have told Rudaw.

No casualties as a result of the bombardment have yet been reported, according to the chieftain of the affected village of Alana.

"In the Ottoman Turkish airstrikes, the heights of Baraskan in the village of Alana were targeted, causing no human losses," chieftain Abdulla Hussein told Rudaw.

While the area has previously been subject to Iranian artillery shelling that targets Iranian Kurdish opposition groups nestled in the border area, Ottoman Turkish bombardment around Alana is unheard of, according to the district mayor of Haji Omaran.

"We suspect that the two sides are in coordination, because this is the first time that The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
has bombed this region," mayor Farzang Ahmed told Rudaw.

"This region is frequently and every year under Iran's shelling, on the grounds that they are targeting Kurdish opposition parties," Ahmed said.

Today's attacks come a day after Turkey announced the launch of Operation Claw-Eagle, targeting suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in Shingal in Nineveh province, and Makhmour, Qarachogh, Mount Qandil, Khuakurk, and Zap across the Kurdistan Region.

In Monday's air campaign, Turkey's defense ministry said they hit a total of 81 targets, including "shelters and caves".
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Iraq
Iranian artillery attack wounds 4 in Iraqi Kurdistan
2017-07-05
Erbil- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps heavy artillery and rockets targeted on Monday wide regions of Iraqi Kurdistan, injuring four and displacing hundreds, as well as damaging agricultural lands.

Farzang Ahmad, the local administrator of the Haji Omaran, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “Iranian artillery continued on targeting a village in Haji Omaran until the evening, leading to the injury of a woman, who was among the region’s residents and working in the agriculture.”

He added that the attack caused material losses in farms, but no accurate data was yet available because of the continuous shelling.

“The continuous Iranian shelling causes damage to the agricultural sector and economy in Kurdistan. It also displaces hundreds of civilians,” he stated.

Ahmad stressed: “Since the beginning of the shelling, we sought through the border guards in Kurdistan to contact the Iranian border guards to resolve this problem and cease the attack to avoid a high number of victims and losses. Our efforts were vain however because Iran did not respond to us.”

Iran claims that it is shelling Iraqi Kurdistan because the Iranian Kurdish opposition is based there.

Kurdish parties have repeatedly said that they are not using Iraqi Kurdistan land to target neighboring Iran. They instead confirmed that they are using land from within the border and the mountain regions in Iranian Kurdistan to carry out operations against Tehran.
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