Iranian troops build illegal outpost inside Iraqi Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdish Official
An Iraqi Kurdish official of the region’s security forces, Lt. Saleh Ahmed, told the Associated Press on Monday that Iranian troops with artillery and tanks crossed the border to set up a military outpost in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. Reports indicate that the Iranian military has also begun digging a road that will lead back to the Iraq-Iran border.
The incursion was reported by PUKmedia – a media organization belonging to one of two main ruling parties in Iraqi Kurdistan – to be at least 5 kilometers into Iraqi territory.
A spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Kawa Mahmoud, released a statement: “The breach of the Iranian troops on the borders of the Kurdistan region is a violation of the sovereignty of Iraq and international agreements.”
While Iran attacks the region under the pretext of fighting Kurdish rebels, local newspapers report that the civilians in the region are suffering the greatest toll.
According to the Washington Post, on Monday, Iraq’s foreign ministry handed Iran’s ambassador a note, asking to cease the attacks immediately. No official responses have been given by the Iranian government.
Thus far, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been careful not to take any action that would jeopardize its delicate relations with neighboring Iran. Meanwhile, public pressure on the KRG surmounts as the number of families displaced by the Iranian attacks exceeds 300.
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