Drone strikes Iranian Kurdish opposition camp near Erbil

An explosive drone struck a camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group north of Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan Region on Saturday, security sources told Reuters. No casualties were reported, as the camp had recently been evacuated before the attack.usnews+2

Ongoing Campaign Against Kurdish Opposition

The strike is the latest in a sustained campaign of drone and missile attacks against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in northern Iraq. Throughout 2026, camps housing exiled Iranian Kurdish parties have been repeatedly targeted in what rights groups and opposition figures attribute to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.thenewregion+1

In April, drone and rocket strikes in the Kurdistan Region killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, according to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), which blamed the attack on Tehran. Earlier in June, multiple drone strikes hit opposition camps in Erbil province, including an attack on the KDPI's Azadi camp and a strike on a base used by the Kurdistan Freedom Party.english.aawsat+3

Escalation Tied to Regional Conflict

The attacks have intensified since the eruption of the broader conflict between Iran and Israel in late February 2026, when Iran launched a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks against the Kurdistan Region. The KDPI has reported more than 138 missile and drone strikes against its family camps, medical centers, and educational facilities since the conflict began, killing at least ten people and wounding several others.wikipedia+1

Saturday's attack, which caused no reported casualties due to the prior evacuation of the camp, underscores the persistent threat facing Iranian Kurdish exile groups operating in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Region despite international calls for restraint.arabnews+1