SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — On the heels of the recent Turkish bombardment of villages on the border areas of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, Iranian artillery on July 10-11 shelled the Sidakan border area in Erbil province, killing a civilian and wounding two.

The Sidakan — or Bradost — area, 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of the capital city of Erbil, is a mountainous triangle area extending from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to neighboring Iran and Turkey. Turkey and Iran frequently bombard the area, claiming they are targeting fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and armed Kurdish parties that oppose Tehran, but bombardments and military operations often lead to civilian casualties.

"On [July 10] at 12:10 p.m. local time, on grounds of targeting the Iranian opposition groups in the region, Iranian artillery shelled areas of Barbazin and Dere, and the villages of Dustanan, Zhuzhila and Talan. Unfortunately, a Kurdish girl named Zaitun Qadir, 18 years old, was martyred, and two of her brothers — Ali, 14 years, and Sirwan, aged 23, were severely injured," Ihsan Chalabi, mayor of Sidakan town, told Al-Monitor.

"The civilians were engaged with agricultural work in Dere village when the Islamic Republic of Iran's artillery hit them. Consequently, all orchards and wild pastures burned and local citizens evacuated the area. We call on both Iran to halt shelling and the Iranian parties to not launch attacks on Iran from our area, for the sake of protecting civilian lives and their properties."