Iranian forces have killed at least two people and wounded three others during a cross-border bombardment of Sidkan, a Kurdish town in Iraq.
Sidkan is located about twenty kilometers from the Iraqi border with Iran and is located within the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Irbil province.
The mayor of Sidkan, Ahmed Qadir reported on Monday that shelling continued on his town for over four hours during the night. The two people killed and three wounded were all Iraqi Kurds who live in Sidkan. The casualties count was confirmed by the Captain of the Kurdish border guards, Ahmed Saleh.
The Iranian offensive against the Kurds in Iraq started earlier this month. It has almost become routine for the civilians in the area to suffer bombardment at the hand of the Iranians, who have repeatedly threatened to attack Kurdish military bases belonging to the rebel group “The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan.” The group originated in Iran, but sought and received shelter in the partly autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq which is along the border with Iran.
According to the International Red Cross over 800 Iraqi Kurdish refugees have been forced to leave their homes as a result of the recent violence. The Red Cross stated that most of the refugees are now living in temporary shelters or being forced into crowded conditions inside the homes of friends and/or relatives.