Iranian peshmerga chief: Iran set ambushes for us
Khalid Azizi, secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), said Iranian forces ambushed Iranian peshmerga fighters, sparking a skirmish in September that resulted in casualties on both sides.
The head of the Iranian peshmerga said his forces acted in self-defense during rare clashes with Iranian forces on Sept. 13, which resulted in deaths on both sides.
No exact death toll has been released, but media reports said an Iranian commander and a peshmerga member were both killed in the fighting.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Khalid Azizi, the secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), said Iranian troops set ambushes for his peshmerga forces, prompting a response from the Kurdish guerrillas. “The Iranian government set ambushes for them [the peshmerga], which triggered the fighting that led to the killing of Iranian soldiers and of one of our members,” he said.
The Iranian Kurdish leader said he was committed to resolving issues with Tehran peacefully, saying, “We cannot destroy the Islamic Republic of Iran and it cannot destroy us, therefore both sides have to find a solution for this issue one day.”
