An Iranian ballistic missile barrage has killed six Peshmerga fighters and wounded around 30 others in Iraq’s Erbil province, in a significant escalation of cross-border attacks on Kurdish-Iraqi security forces.

The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said that six missiles struck military positions in the Soran district, including the 7th Infantry Division headquarters and a unit from the 5th Infantry Division. The ministry described the assault as a hostile and treacherous act and said it violated principles of good neighbourly relations. The strike comes amid a broader pattern of intensified Iranian military activity targeting northern Iraq in recent weeks. Tehran has launched missiles and drones at sites it claims are linked to both US forces and Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups operating in the Kurdistan Region, including factions such as the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and Komala. Iraqi and Kurdish officials say Iran views these groups, along with the wider security infrastructure in Erbil, as a threat to its internal stability. Concerns are also growing that the Kurdistan Region could be drawn deeper into the widening regional conflict, particularly as some Kurdish factions are being discussed as potential partners in a US-backed campaign against Iran.