Kurdish separatist group claims to be defending Iranian protesters
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- The National Army of Kurdistan, armed wing of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), has launched attacks on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in response to Tehran’s violent crackdown on protests, marking the first armed operations claimed by Kurdish groups since the protests began.
- PAK representatives stated their fighters inside Iran targeted Revolutionary Guard forces after witnessing violence against protesters, while also providing financial and defensive support to demonstrators.
- The group operates primarily from bases in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, a sensitive area that has caused tensions between Baghdad and Tehran, with Iran occasionally striking these sites but not since the recent protests.
- Iranian state media accuses Kurdish groups like PAK and PJAK of inciting unrest and carrying out attacks on security forces
