TEHRAN, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Iran says it has killed Majid Kavian, deputy commander of the Kurdish rebel group PJAK.
Kavian, also known as Semko Sarholdan, was second-in-command of PJAK, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, an offshoot of the Turkish separatist group PKK or Kurdistan Workers Party. He was killed during the weekend in an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps operation in Northwestern Iran, Fars News Agency reported Wednesday.
Iran has had about 5,000 military troops along the border of the Iraqi Kurdistan region since July, when teams of PJAK were arrested while allegedly trying to infiltrate Iran for terrorist purposes, the report said.
While a cease-fire was called during the month of Ramadan, the IRGC resumed operations last week.
Fars News Agency said it has been reported that PJAK and PKK members have dug new tunnels in the Jasosan heights close to Iran's border regions over the past month.
