Iran strikes Kurdish region of Iraq following US midterm elections - analysis

Iran carried out a drone attack targeting Kurdish Iranian opposition groups in northern Iraq on Wednesday, striking a Komala base northeast of Erbil and a house in Halabja province. No casualties were reported. The attacks, attributed to the IRGC by Kurdish officials, are part of a wider campaign that has intensified since US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Iran carried out a drone attack targeting Kurdish Iranian opposition groups in northern Iraq on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in what analysts say may be a message of potential escalation. The strikes, reported by Kurdish media outlet Rudaw, targeted a base used by the Komala group northeast of Erbil and a house in Halabja province. No casualties were reported in either incident. Komala said its forces were unharmed despite material damage. Ali Ranjbari, head of Komala's relations, accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of being behind the attack, describing it as part of a wider campaign to spread conflict to Iraq and pre-empt Kurdish uprisings. The attacks are part of a broader Iranian campaign against Kurdish opposition organizations that have maintained bases in northern Iraq for decades. These strikes have intensified since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28. The Kurdistan Regional Government is caught between maintaining close ties with Western countries and managing its long border with Iran. Last month, Iran's ambassador to Iraq claimed Baghdad had agreed to expel Kurdish Iranian opposition groups, but an Iraqi official disputed this claim.