YRK identifies four guerrillas killed in Mahabad clashes

Hengaw – Saturday, July 4, 2026

The Eastern Kurdistan Defense Units (YRK), the armed wing of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), has identified four of its guerrillas who were killed in clashes with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Mahabad last week.

According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, YRK issued an official statement on Saturday, July 4, 2026, confirming that four of its guerrillas were killed during clashes in the Sharestin highlands of Mahabad the previous Sunday.

The statement identified the four guerrillas, two of whom were women, as Zarin Akbash from Turkey’s Kurdistan region; Parastou Safaeipour from Marivan; Khalil Chichek from the city of Muş in Turkey’s Kurdistan region; and Rasoul Yeganeh from Khoy.

YRK had previously confirmed in a statement that the clashes took place on Sunday, June 28. Iran’s state broadcaster later released footage and, citing a statement from the IRGC’s Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Base, claimed that the unit had been eliminated and that four members of the opposing forces were killed.

Iranian state media also published images of the bodies of the four guerrillas, indicating that their remains had been taken into custody by the IRGC.