Two KDPI members killed in Sulaimani province

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) were killed in an overnight attack in Sulaimani province, the party announced on Friday, placing blame on the Iranian regime.

Adel Muhajir, also known as Sarbaz, and Luqman Aji were visiting Qaladze town northern Sulaimani province when they were targeted and killed in a “premeditated” attack by an “Iranian regime hitman,” the KDPI said in a statement. 

The party condemned the attack and the Iranian regime, and called on authorities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to take a firm stance against Tehran. 

According to Hengaw Human Rights Organization, which monitors human rights in Kurdish areas of Iran, the attack was carried out by Rasul Azarabakhish, a former KDPI member who left the party over six years ago and joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Hengaw added that after shooting the KDPI members, Azarabakhish, who was reportedly visiting the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of searching for a job, fled towards Iranian forces on the border to seek protection. 

The KDPI is a Kurdish opposition party that has waged an on-and-off war against the Iranian government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The party has been based in the Kurdistan Region since the 1980’s and Iran frequently bombards areas where the KDPI is present, including using ballistic missiles in what it says are efforts to target the group. Tehran has threatened further military action if Baghdad and Erbil do not secure the border areas and disarm the opposition groups. 

Iraqi and Kurdistan Region officials have repeatedly criticized the presence of exiled Kurdish opposition groups within their borders, saying they harm relations with their neighbors. 

On March 19, Iraq's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji and Iran's then-Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani signed a security deal in which they agreed to coordinate to protect the shared border. The agreement is seen as a joint step against Kurdish dissident groups based in the Kurdistan Region.