Kurds take to patrolling Iraq-Iran border

摘要

About 12,000 Kurdish troops are massing along the Iran-Iraq border to prevent continued incursions by Iranian troops into Iraqi territory. Since mid-July the Kurdish Peshmerga have been moving into the Pishdar border district, where local media reports suggest ground attacks, originating from Iran, are targeted civilians. Senior Peshmerga officials cited by the daily news source Rudaw said that the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) forces were prepared for any confrontation with the Iranians in the border area. The Kurdish military leadership has alleged that the Iranian fighters captured or killed in the weeks-long conflict are members of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Islam movement. There has been no way to immediately confirm the allegations.