The Iraqi Parliament orders an investigation of the Iranian offensive in Kurdistan

MADRID, 8 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohamed al Halbusi, announced this Saturday that he has requested an investigation into the offensive undertaken by the Iranian Army against formations opposed to Tehran that are hiding in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

"Al Halbusi has ordered the parliamentary committees on Security, Defense and Foreign Affairs to investigate all bombings on Iraqi territory in coordination with the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government," according to a statement published by the official Iranian news agency INA.

Once the assessment is complete, Al Halbusi will review the findings with a view to a possible consultation of the situation with the UN Security Council.

Likewise, the Iraqi Parliament will consult in the coming days with the International Inter-Parliamentary Union "an emergency article to demand the preservation of Iraq's sovereignty and stop the attacks and interference in its internal affairs."

This statement comes after, according to Kurdish media, Iran's Revolutionary Guard has threatened to invade the semi-autonomous region, the scene of clashes for weeks between Iranian forces and opposition groups it accuses of fomenting protests in Iran over the death of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman in police custody.

"Given the inability of some neighbors to expel elements of terrorist separatism and other hypocrites stationed on the border, the armored and special forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are ready to deploy and rid this region of this evil forever. ", according to a statement collected by the Kurdish agency Rudaw.

The Kurdish authorities have accused Iran of carrying out indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population in the area, such as the one that occurred on September 28 when a missile and drone attack killed at least 16 people, including a pregnant woman, they denounce.

These attacks reached the headquarters of organizations opposed to the Iranian authorities such as the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI), the Party for a Free Life for Kurdistan (PJAK) and Komala in the Suleimani and Erbil provinces.

The PDKI claims the creation of a Kurdish entity in Iran, something that the Islamic Republic has refused. PDKI and Revolutionary Guard fighters clashed in 2015 in northern Iran, leaving several dead and wounded on both sides.

Iranian authorities have accused Kurdish opposition groups of fueling recent protests in the country over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl from the Kurdish minority who died in custody after being arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.

Iran has about seven million Kurds, which represents about ten percent of its population. Most live in the Kurdistan region, located in the northwest of the country, near the border with Iraq.