Five Kurdish fighters killed in clashes with Iranian forces PHOTO

At least five fighters from a Kurdish opposition group have been killed in clashes with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the country’s northwest, according to regional and human rights sources.

The fighting took place on July 1 in a border area near the city of Piranshahr in Iran’s Kurdish region, Kurdish outlet Rudaw reported. The clashes involved members of the armed wing of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and IRGC units.

Iranian state media reported separate armed confrontations in the Piranshahr and Sardasht areas, saying a group of “separatists” had been eliminated, but did not provide details on casualties.

The Norway-based human rights organisation Hengaw said both sides sustained losses in the fighting, though it did not specify figures.

The incident comes amid ongoing operations by Iranian security forces targeting Kurdish armed groups, as well as a recent uptick in clashes across western Iran.

By Tamilla Hasanova