ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Overnight clashes between Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and Iranian government forces left five members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) dead in Iran’s western Kurdish regions (Rojhelat), the party said Thursday.

KDPI members Twana Osmani, Fardin Changizi, Abdulla Haji Abdulla, Karo Hurmuzyar, and Mohammad Gargoli, were killed in clashes with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that took place in an area known as Qisqapan near the city of Piranshahr, a senior KDPI source told The New Region.

Skirmishes also occurred in Sardasht, but the source noted that no clear information was yet available regarding that episode.

Since early June, clashes have erupted between opposition groups and the Islamic republic’s forces in western Iran’s Kurdish majority regions (Rojhelat), leading to casualties on both sides on several occasions. The fighting has reportedly intensified since Saturday.

The altercations have taken place most commonly in the cities of Marivan, Baneh, Mahabad, Piranshahr, and Paveh, among others.

Additionally, on late Wednesday, the bases of two main Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, the KDPI and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), in Kurdistan Region’s Erbil, were targeted in Iranian drone attacks, with no casualties reported.

On Tuesday, the Eastern Kurdistan Units (YRK), the armed wing of Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), confirmed that four of its members were killed in recent clashes with government forces in Rojhelat, and warned that the escalation will not go unanswered.

In recent days, Iran announced that several members of its IRGC were killed in the clashes with opposition groups.

Iran routinely targets and clashes with Iranian Kurdish opposition parties which are mainly based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Tehran designates these groups as “terrorists” and has frequently carried out cross-border attacks against them. These groups, which seek greater rights for Iran’s marginalized Kurdish population, have fought an on-and-off conflict with the Islamic republic for decades.

A newly-formed armed group known as Khori Hiwa, meaning “Sun of Hope” in Kurdish, has also recently become active in Rojhelat, clashing with government forces in Paveh, leading to casualties among IRGC-linked personnel.