Kurdistan Democratic Party Accuses Tehran of Killing 2 of its Members in Iraqi Kurdistan

Smoke rises from the headquarters of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraqi Kurdistan, after an IRGC attack on the outskirts of Kirkuk, September 28, 2022 (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the headquarters of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraqi Kurdistan, after an IRGC attack on the outskirts of Kirkuk, September 28, 2022 (Reuters)
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Kurdistan Democratic Party Accuses Tehran of Killing 2 of its Members in Iraqi Kurdistan

Smoke rises from the headquarters of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraqi Kurdistan, after an IRGC attack on the outskirts of Kirkuk, September 28, 2022 (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the headquarters of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraqi Kurdistan, after an IRGC attack on the outskirts of Kirkuk, September 28, 2022 (Reuters)

The Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party has announced that two of its members in the Kurdistan region of Iraq were killed by a group loyal to Iran.

In a statement, the party said on Friday that a premeditated attack was carried out by the group in the south of the region, targeting a number of party members and leaving Adel Muhajir and Luqman Aji dead.

The party condemned the attack and called on the Iraqi government and the regional government to “take a firm stand against the terrorist acts committed by Iran.”

However, the statement did not mention the name of the group that carried out the operation.

Last year, Iran launched several attacks inside Iraqi territory in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, using ballistic missiles and drones and targeting what it said were Kurdish groups accused of being involved in protests.

In one of the operations, Iran said it was targeting an oil trader suspected of transporting Kurdistan region’s oil to Israel and running armed groups attacking facilities in Iran.

Iran accuses the Iraqi Kurdistan region of harboring opposition movements and groups, such as the Kurdish (Komala) movement and elements of the People’s Mujahedin Organization.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Body in Iraq announced on Friday that five ISIS members were killed in a security operation carried out by its forces in Kirkuk, 250 km north of Baghdad.

At the end of 2017, Iraq announced the elimination of ISIS from the country, but the organization remains active in some areas.



Israel Police Detain Top Imam at Al-Asqua Mosque over Haniyeh Comments

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri arrives for questioning over one of his sermons at the Israeli intelligence service office in Jerusalem on May 8, 2023. AFP
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri arrives for questioning over one of his sermons at the Israeli intelligence service office in Jerusalem on May 8, 2023. AFP
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Israel Police Detain Top Imam at Al-Asqua Mosque over Haniyeh Comments

Sheikh Ekrima Sabri arrives for questioning over one of his sermons at the Israeli intelligence service office in Jerusalem on May 8, 2023. AFP
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri arrives for questioning over one of his sermons at the Israeli intelligence service office in Jerusalem on May 8, 2023. AFP

Israeli police detained on Friday the top imam at the revered Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City for comments he made during a Friday sermon mourning the death of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Police said they brought Sheikh Ekrima Sabri in for questioning after his address during midday prayers mentioned Haniyeh by name, mourning his death and asking “God Almighty to have mercy on him and to grant him a place in his spacious gardens.”

Haniyeh was assassinated earlier in the week in Tehran in an attack that many have pinned on Israel.

The police said they are now investigating Sabri for incitement. They said the state has previously filed an indictment against Sabri on the same charge, one of 140 indictments for incitement in the Jerusalem area — including several other imams.

Throughout the war, Israel has cracked down on Palestinian free speech, rights groups say, arresting them for speech deemed by Israeli authorities to be incendiary.