SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, July 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region killed eight members of an Iranian Kurdish armed opposition group on Friday, the exiled party said, blaming the attack on Iran.

Idriss Kohlwazi from the Komala party told AFP that "the Iranian regime attacked with drones and rockets a camp" belonging to the party and its vicinity near the city of Sulaimaniyah in the early morning.

The attack resulted in the "martyrdom of eight of our members and wounding others," he added.

The escalation in Iraq comes against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, Iraq's main allies.

During the Middle East war, the Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and foreign oil companies as well as exiled Iranian Kurdish rebels, has been a primary target for attacks carried out by Iran and pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups.

Even after a ceasefire was announced in April, Iran continued to strike Kurdish opposition groups, which Tehran accuses of serving Western or Israeli interests.

But Friday's attack marked the biggest escalation after the ceasefire with these groups having mostly evacuated their bases and camps since the war.

In Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan, the US-led anti-jihadist coalition shot down several drones on Friday in the second such incident in the city this week.

Erbil is home to a major US consulate complex and its airport houses military advisers attached to the US-led coalition.

Kurdish counterterrorism forces said that "coalition forces downed eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil between 04:19 and 05:25 am (0119 and 0225 GMT)" on Friday, with no damage or casualties reported.

On Wednesday evening, the coalition also shot down eight drones over Erbil, with AFP journalists reporting that the drones were hit by air defences near the US consulate, which was a primary target of attacks during the regional war.

No group has claimed responsibility for any attacks in Erbil.

During the Middle East war, pro-Iran armed groups, operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, targeted US facilities in Iraq more than 600 times in support of Tehran.