A man wearing a white surgeon's mask sprays red paint at pockmarks left in a white wall by shrapnel -- honouring comrades who died in an Iranian missile attack in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The man is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, a rebel group based in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, whose headquarters were targeted by the missile attack on September 8.

At least 15 KDPI leaders and members were killed at the base in Koysinjaq, according to the rebels.

"The victims have obviously left a big hole", said KDPI Secretary General Mustafa Muludi, one of around 30 wounded in the strikes.

"We have suffered a great loss because (the dead leaders) had political experience and expertise", he said.

"We have always considered Iran a danger to us. This bombardment has made our fear stronger."

But Muludi said he was confident the KDPI would fill the leadership void.

Iran said the strikes were retaliation for repeated cross-border incursions by the "terrorist" group.

The KDPI is Iran's oldest Kurdish separatist group.

It was banned after the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Iran's armed forces chief of staff said on Tuesday that Kurdish leaders in Iraq had given assurances in the past that they would rein in the KDPI and other anti-Iran militants.

"But since last year, provoked by America, they broke this pledge," Major General Mohammad Bagheri told Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency.

While Iran has called on Iraq to expel the rebels, Baghdad has called the missile strikes a violation of its sovereignty.

Kurds, a non-Arab ethnic group, have long agitated for their own state.

They number between 25 and 35 million people spread across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

In Iran they make up around 10 percent of the population.

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Campaigning begins for Iraqi Kurdish parliamentary vote
Arbil, Iraq (AFP) Sept 11, 2018
Campaigning kicked off on Tuesday for a parliamentary election in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region amid political divisions a year after hopes for independence were dashed. Around 673 candidates from 29 political movements have thrown their hats into the ring hoping to secure one of 111 seats in Kurdistan's parliament at the election on September 30. Eleven of the seats are however reserved for religious and ethnic minorities and five will go to Turkmen candidates, five to Christians and one to ... read more