Continued US and Israeli airstrikes have sparked speculation that\nIran-based Kurdish armed groups headquartered in Iraq will soon cross\nthe border and join military operations against the Islamic Republic of\nIran. In response, Iran has launched attacks against several Kurdish\ngroups, including firing ballistic missiles that killed a fighter.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on 7 March emphasised that he\ndoes not wish to involve Kurdish forces in fighting within Iran.<\/p>\n
Amid these tensions, the BBC obtained rare access to one Kurdish\nmilitary group\u2014a battalion composed entirely of women fighters.<\/p>\n
It took days of waiting and negotiation to gain entry to the caves\nand underground tunnels serving as the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish\nforces in northern Iraq. They operate a secret communications network,\nlive outside conventional civilian practices, and hide from detection by\nthe Iranian government and Turkish forces in the semi-autonomous\nKurdistan region.<\/p>\n
Only a female photographer was permitted to enter the complex and\nremain with the Kurdish fighters for ten days.<\/p>\n
Over recent decades, several Kurdish rebel groups from Iran have\nmigrated to the mountains in Iraq. They hide from Iranian intelligence,\nIraq-based Shia militias, and Turkish forces.<\/p>\n
Recently, large Kurdish groups from Iran in northern Iraq have formed\na coalition.<\/p>\n
Speculation has developed that US President Donald Trump made direct\ncontact with Kurdish leaders and requested they join the war.<\/p>\n
In a telephone interview with Reuters news agency on 5 March, Trump\nstated he supported Kurdish forces attacking Iran, saying: \u201cI think it\nwould be great if they want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, two days later, on Saturday (7 March), Trump told\njournalists that he does not want Kurdish forces to set foot on Iranian\nsoil.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to make this war more complicated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Continuing US and Israeli airstrikes have prompted Iran to launch\nattacks against several Kurdish groups. One ballistic missile strike\nkilled a fighter.<\/p>\n
One of the most organised groups is the Free Life Party of Kurdistan\n(PJAK), which claims to have spent years preparing to attack Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fight for my family and the Kurdish people who have long been\noppressed,\u201d said Aryen, a 21-year-old fighter. She is a member of the\nWomen\u2019s Defence Forces unit at PJAK.<\/p>\n
As a Kurd, Aryen claimed to have experienced injustice and\ndiscrimination in Iran, leaving her with no choice but to take up\narms.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, she decided to join PJAK.<\/p>\n
Inside the secret military headquarters<\/p>\n
The tunnel serves as a safe shelter, complete with food supplies,\ncash, and ammunition stores.<\/p>\n
PJAK keeps its troop numbers secret, but approximately 60\nfighters\u2014mostly women\u2014have trained at this headquarters before the US\nand Israel attacked Iran.<\/p>\n
Fighters undergo military training, ideological sessions, and various\nskills ranging from sniper tactics to drone operation. They also undergo\nmedical examinations in preparation for deployment at the border, as\ntensions between the US and Iran escalate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis war has long been anticipated,\u201d said Gelawej Ewrin, 40, to the\nBBC.<\/p>\n
At age 20, he left his geography studies in the city of Urmia, Iran,\nand joined PJAK as a soldier. He now serves as a spokesman.<\/p>\n
Fighters from PJAK follow developments outside the secret tunnel by\nwatching television.<\/p>\n
Speaking from one of the secret caves, Ewrin revealed that he has\nspent half his life in the mountains and has not seen his family since\nleaving home.<\/p>\n
He suggested that, even if Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were\nkilled in a US-Israeli strike, the women-led protest wave that began in\n2022 had already weakened the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n
He referred to the unrest triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a\n22-year-old Kurdish woman arrested by Iran\u2019s morality police for\nallegedly failing to comply with mandatory hijab regulations.<\/p>\n
The only option<\/p>\n
The Iranian government responded to the expanding protests, which\nevolved into the \u201cWoman, Life, Freedom\u201d movement, with violent\nrepression. However, the movement has inspired some new PJAK\nrecruits.<\/p>\n
Before joining PJAK, 18-year-old Bigen participated in mass\ndemonstrations and refused to wear a hijab at school as an act of civil\ndisobedience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen don\u2019t have many options,\u201d she said whilst slowly braiding a\nfellow fighter\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must choose: either suffer from domestic violence and social\nrestrictions, or protect ourselves through revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kurdish rebel groups are often accused of recruiting children as\nsoldiers. Bigen herself was still a student in Iran when she joined the\ngroup three years ago. Many fighters at this base claim that armed\nresistance is the only way out.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy struggle is to ensure a free future for the next generation of\nKurdish people,\u201d said Delal, a dentist who became a guerrilla fighter at\nage 23.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the Kurdish people, the last 200 years have been marked by\noppression and violence,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
PJAK was formed in 2004.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kurdish-armed-groups-prepare-at-iran-border-1773287553", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }