Iran Calls on Iraq to Control Joint Borders amid PJAK Operations

Senior Iranian security officials stressed on Wednesday that the country would continue military operations against the Iraq-based armed opposition group, PJAK, until Iraq stations troops along the two countries’ borderline to control crossings and prevent terrorist group’s infiltration into Iran.
“The IRGC offense to destroy the US-backed anti-revolutionary forces in borderlines North of Iran and Iraq will be continued until the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government station troops at the joint borders,” said a senior military official at IRGC’s Hamzeh Seyyed ul-Shohada barracks.

The official said that the security and law enforcement forces of Iraq and Kurdistan regional governments should accept the responsibility for protecting joint borders with Iran.

He announced that the IRGC forces have killed 50, and injured 100 terrorist elements in recent operations.

Iran has deployed around 5,000 troops in the Northwestern parts of the country along its joint border with the Iraqi Kurdistan region to stop PJAK terrorists’ infiltration into the country.

The move by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps came after PJAK staged several terrorist operations in Northwestern Iran, killing a dozen Iranian citizens and IRGC members.

During the operations, the IRGC forces killed, injured and arrested tens of terrorists and destroyed their headquarters in the bordering areas of Alvatan near Sardasht city in Northwestern Iran.

Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour emphasized last week that the IRGC operations against PJAK would continue till the terrorist group’s full annihilation.

PJAK, a militant Kurdish nationalist group with bases in the mountainous regions of Northern Iraq, has been carrying out numerous attacks in Western Iran, Southern Turkey and the Northeastern parts of Syria where the Kurdish populations live.

The separatist group has been fighting to establish an autonomous state, or possibly a new world country, in the area after separating Kurdish regions from Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

Iranian intelligence and security officials have repeatedly accused Washington of providing military support and logistical aids for such anti-Iran terrorist groups.