SOUTH KURDISTAN, — A general and seven Iranian commanders were killed by Kurdish guerrillas of PJAK, while the Iranian army is continuing its major operation along the border with Iraq since July 16.
“A general and seven commanders were killed on Thursday, July 21 by the guerrillas in an ambush in Dola Koke, in the region of Qandil” said Shirzad Kamankar, the spokesman for the PJAK, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan.
The names of the causalities are as follows;
Revolutionary Guards Commander General Abbas Asemi from Qum city
Colonel Delavar Ranjbarzadeh, Commander of Revolutionary Guards at Sardasht-Piranshahr Front
Hadjiagha Maroufi, Commander of Special Forces at Eastern Front and five other senior commanders: Ali Akhbar Jamrassi, Mahmoud Tabar, Najat Mousavi, Mahdi Khabir, Rohoullah Sehrahi.
The Iranian regime has confirmed the death of General Assem but still keeps silent about others. “The General Assem from the body of the Revolutionary Guards in Qom (centre) and five of his companions were killed in clashes with PJAK rebels in the region of Sardasht” at the border,’ said Friday the agency Fars.
One day before his death, Colonel Delavar Ranjbarzadeh Iran had announced the acquisition of control of three PJAK camps in Iraqi territory, but this information was denied by the PJAK and the Iraqi Kurdish authorities. All attempts to infiltrate troops into the autonomous Kurdish region have been delayed by the PJAK fighters had said a spokesman for that organization.
A SERIES OF ATTACKS
Kurdish guerrillas have launched a series of attacks between July 20 and 21, in responses to the military operation at the border. A captain and two Revolution Guards were killed and another wounded on July 20 in an ambush laid by guerrillas on the road between Mariwan and Sine. Local collaborator Mihemmed Rexnebeş was killed while another guard Mıhemmed Melek was injured, reported PJAK’s military wing Eastern Kurdistan Forces (HRK).
The same day, eight Iranian Revolution Guards were killed and four were injured in Berdanaze in Piranshar region, in clashes with the PJAK.
On July 21, the guerrillas launched an attack on a military post in the village of Savan at Bane, Kurdish town, killing four Revolution Guards.
The Iranian army suffered heavy losses since the beginning of the operation. More than 150 Revolution guards have been killed and seven guerrillas lost their lives according to PJAK.
FIVE VILLAGERS INJURED
The Iranian army carried out an artillery bombardment on Kurdish villages in the autonomous region of South Kurdistan. Four villagers were wounded in the night from Thursday to Friday by Iran’s bombardment on Sune village, near Qeladize, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A woman of 27 years, living in Sune village, was injured on July 17 in her house by the bombing that also affected a school, mosque and several houses.
The bombing on Thursday and Friday did extensive damage in the villages of the regions and Choman Haji Omran.
According to the head of the Choman, Abdullwahid Giwayi, artillery hit up to 4 km inside the autonomous Kurdish region.