Drone attack on Khabat headquarters in Erbil after threat from Islamic Republic consul

Two explosive drones struck the headquarters of the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, one of the groups opposed to the Islamic Republic, in the Razgari (Topzawa) area of Erbil province in Iraq's Kurdistan Region on the night of Thursday, 8 October 2026. The attack came hours after the broadcast of an interview in which Faramarz Asadi, the Islamic Republic's consul in Erbil, did not rule out further attacks on the Region's territory.

According to the Kurdish network Rudaw, Shorsh Haji, head of relations of the Khabat Organization, said the attack was carried out with at least two drones and damaged the headquarters building and its surroundings, but caused no casualties because the headquarters had been evacuated before the attack. Erbil's counter-terrorism directorate also confirmed an attack by two drones and the absence of casualties, without naming the targeted group. The Jerusalem Post attributed the attack to the Islamic Republic.

The Islamic Republic consul's threat in Erbil

In an interview with Rudaw, Faramarz Asadi dodged the question of whether Tehran will stop attacks on the Kurdistan Region after the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. According to the Jerusalem Post, he called the Kurdish parties opposed to the Islamic Republic terrorist groups, demanded that their members be handed over through Interpol, and claimed that these parties formed a coalition under pressure from foreign powers shortly before the war began in February–March 2026.

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan rejected these accusations and said the Coalition of Iranian Kurdistan Political Forces was formed to coordinate among these parties. The party also said that returning refugees through Interpol violates the rules protecting refugees.

More than a thousand attacks on the Kurdistan Region since the war began

According to official figures published by Rudaw, since 28 February 2026, when the US–Israeli war against the Islamic Republic began, the Kurdistan Region has been the target of more than a thousand drone and missile attacks by the Islamic Republic and Iraqi armed groups aligned with it. By early September these attacks had left at least 32 dead and about 154 wounded. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan puts the number of Islamic Republic attacks on the region at more than 1,200.

According to the Jerusalem Post, with US forces leaving Iraq, the Kurdistan Region has no air defence system, and some families living near the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish parties have left the area. The attack comes as, after Trump's pledge not to attack Iran until the midterm elections, hardline figures of the Islamic Republic have called for an escalation of the conflict. Attacks on opponents beyond its borders are part of a broader pattern also seen in cases such as spying for the Islamic Republic in London.

The Khabat Organization's headquarters was hit by two explosive drones hours after the Islamic Republic's consul called the opposing Kurdish parties terrorist groups.

Sources

• Rudaw
• The Jerusalem Post