Deadly Blast or Drone Strike? Explosion Destroys Vehicle of Komala Deputy Leader on Dukan Road

Peregraf - A Peshmerga fighter affiliated with the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan was killed and another seriously injured on Wednesday after their vehicle caught fire on the Dukan–Sulaymaniyah road, according to multiple sources. The vehicle, a bulletproof Toyota Land Cruiser, was completely destroyed by the flames.

Authorities confirmed that the car belonged to Omar Ilkhanizadeh, the Deputy Secretary General of the Komala party.

Komala, formally known as the Organisation of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan, is a long-standing Iranian Kurdish opposition party founded in 1969 that advocates for the rights and autonomy of the Kurdish people in Iran. The party has historically maintained a presence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where it operates bases and engages in political activities against the Iranian government.

Ilkhanizadeh was not inside the vehicle at the time, but a detail of his personal guards was reportedly on board. Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the cause of the incident. A source from the Sulaymaniyah Asayish (security forces) told Peregraf that the fire resulted from a traffic accident, which subsequently triggered an explosion of munitions being transported inside the vehicle. 

In contrast, Kamaran Osman of the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) stated that the vehicle was targeted by a drone strike. Additional unofficial accounts suggest the vehicle may have been sabotaged by a magnetic "sticky bomb" attached to the car. Authorities have not yet issued an official statement, and an investigation is currently underway to determine the exact circumstances of the explosion.