Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq say they are ready to confront Iran’s regime, even as drone strikes threaten their camps

In a remote mountain camp in northern Iraq, Kurdish fighters preparing to challenge Iran’s leadership say the pull of home remains powerful — even after decades in exile.

Don’t miss the latest headlines from Thailand and around the world. Get the Asean Now Briefing newsletter, delivered daily. Sign up here.

For Shaho Bloori, a 53-year-old commander, the struggle is deeply personal.

Two of his sisters still live in Iran. Eighteen of his relatives are buried there, killed by the regime over the years.

Among them was his brother, a young protest singer executed at the age of 21.

Bloori says the authorities not only hanged his brother but also shot his body repeatedly. Even after his death, he says, officials tried to control the family’s grief.

“When my mother went to wash his body, there were 16 bullet holes,” he recalls.

“They told her: ‘You must not cry. If you do, we will not let you bury him.’”

Despite his anger, Bloori says he does not seek revenge if the current government falls.

“We must stop the hanging,” he says. “Even if someone was responsible for hanging my brother, I don’t want them executed. We need freedom, not another regime like the Islamic regime.”

Training a new generation of fighters

Bloori now trains young Kurdish fighters in the mountains of northern Iraq.

The fighters belong to Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, a small Iranian Kurdish opposition group that is part of a broader alliance of organisations opposing Tehran’s rule.

The camp sits in a rugged region of Iraqi Kurdistan surrounded by snow-capped peaks — a beautiful landscape that is also a frequent target for Iranian strikes.

Days before journalists visited, drones struck roughly a kilometre from the site, injuring several people.

Despite the danger, training continues.

About two dozen fighters — men and women — gathered to greet visitors, chanting slogans and raising their rifles in the air.

Their rallying cry echoes across the mountains: “Woman, life, freedom,” a Kurdish slogan adopted by protest movements inside Iran.

More fighters stand guard on nearby hilltops, scanning the sky for drones. One lone sentry watches the horizon with his dog beside him.

Kurds spread across the Middle East

The Kurds are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Middle East without their own state.

They live mainly across Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, sharing a long history of persecution and political divisions.

Iranian Kurdish fighters have operated from bases in northern Iraq for decades, although local Kurdish authorities are cautious about allowing their territory to become a staging ground for attacks on Iran.

Officials in the autonomous Kurdish region want to avoid being drawn into the wider conflict.

Hopes for a wider uprising

Amjad Hossein Panahi, a senior official in the Komala movement, says Kurdish fighters could play an important role if Iran’s government weakens.

He argues that air strikes alone will not topple the regime.

“Bombing is weakening the regime,” he says. “But Iran is a big country. Ground forces must intervene, and the Kurds can play an important role.”

Panahi believes international support — particularly a no-fly zone — would be necessary to make that possible.

But he is skeptical about how long the United States will remain involved.

“I don’t trust Donald Trump,” he says bluntly. “I think he could decide to stop the war.”

Still, Panahi believes the Iranian government is nearing its end.

“It will fall,” he says. “Whether by Trump, by Benjamin Netanyahu, or by the people themselves.”

A sudden warning

The conversation suddenly ends when Panahi receives a phone call.

Another Komala camp near the city of Sulaymaniyah has reportedly come under drone attack.

He immediately shouts orders to the fighters gathered around him.

“Spread out! Drones and ballistic missiles are coming. Hurry!”

The fighters scatter across the mountainside. Visitors rush for cover.

The skies remain quiet, but the message is clear: the threat is never far away.

For decades, Kurdish fighters have waited in these mountains for a chance to return home.

If they do cross the border into Iran, the cost could be enormous — not only for them, but also for the fragile stability of northern Iraq.

Join the discussion?

Already a member?

  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 13.03 2026

View full article

Go! the Kurds!

Nobody wants the Kurds, not the Turks, Iraqis, Iranians or Armenians. The US fires them up, gives them false hope. When the job fails, the US discards them. How many times now?

Apparently the Kurds don't trust Trump. Smarter than some people thought they were.

Remember the Kurds have zero interest who is in charge in Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus or Ankara. If Tehran does a deal with them for autonomy, they'll do it. They won't be fighting and dying for Iran.

2 million Iranians fled immediately after the Islamic Revolution. Now, many of the adults of that generation are now elderly.

There are 12 opposition parties in exile, everything from dissident clerics, monarchists to communists. The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran carried out some armed opposition until giving up in 2003. They are basically communists, who backed Saddam Hussein. The main opposition coalesces around Hassan Shariatmadari, Reza Pahlavi and Maryam Rajavi, who hold lots of conferences, meetings, workshops, explaining how they want change and basically disagreeing with each other.

If the Americans genuinely want to help the opposition on the ground, rather than the exiled grandchildren of the ancien regime, they should be conducting good old fasioned Psyops; love bombing the country, now they control the skies (apparently), with air drops of 1.1kg Star Link Minis. 6000 were covertly supplied, but that sounds like a drop in the ocean. A Starlink terminal is about $400. For $10bn, the US could have supplied every single household in Iran with free internet. Right now the regime is able to point to external threats, and using that to unite people. The Blitz united the British people, even those who didn't think much of Churchill. Even the League of Fascists came on board. If people were receiving s counter message, from their country men, that would force the regime to focus more on internal dissent, diverting resources, and which would probably send it in a panic. You can see from the regional results of the last election the areas which are most fickle (there are areas, such as Qom, where the regime is genuinely supported). Focus on areas of least support, and start a domino of cities, provinces dislocating from government control, Libya style (the uprising to Gaddafi started in Benghazi, where it went wrong was the style of Gaddafi government, which was structured to prevent coups. We shoukd have learnt from that) The US is allowing the Iranian government, via digital TV, to give a message to the Iranian people. Its not using its undoubted capabilities to shut that down and provide an alternative message. Instead, its wasting effort trolling IRGC members with SMS messages saying "You're Next".