2011 Iran – Iraq cross - border raids 2011 Iran – Iraq cross - border raids were a series of operations , performed by Iran ' s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC ) , against the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan ( PJAK ) , a Kurdish rebel group . The operations began in July 2011 , and have included attacks on PJAK bases in Iranian territory , penetration into Iraqi Kurdistan territory , bombing of PJAK associated bases and villages in Kurdish controlled Iraqi areas and direct targeting of Kurdish guerilla command in Qandil mountains . The clashes resulted in dozens killed and wounded on both sides , with hundreds of displaced Kurdish villagers . The exact numbers of casualties on each side are a matter of controversy . On September 29 , PJAK accepted Iranian terms and withdrew fully from Iran ' s soil in what Iranian commanders described as a surrender . According to the IRGC they killed over 180 PJAK fighters and injured over 300 during the operations . The operation cost Iran $ 150 million . The cease - fire was violated by the sides on December 2011 , in Baneh . Chronology . July offensive . Iran started its offensive against the PJAK on July 11 , after an escelation of PJAK activity in North - Western Iran and began shelling PJAK positions in Northern Iraq on July 16 . On July 17 , the IRGC killed at least five PJAK members in a raid that destroyed one of the group ' s headquarters in north - western Iran . PJAK claimed 21 Iranian soldiers were killed in the clashes . Iranian authorities on the other hand confirmed their casualties at 1 killed and 3 injured , while claiming to have inflicted " heavy losses " on the rebels . They announced that they had captured three rebel bases , one of which was identified as Marvan and was said to be the leading PJAK camp in the region . On July 20 , PJAK killed 5 IRGC members and one IRGC commander . IRGC forces killed 35 PJAK fighters and captured several others during clashes on July 25 . By July 26 , more than 50 PJAK fighters and 8 Revolutionary Guards were reported to had been killed and at least 100 PJAK fighters had been wounded according to Iranian sources , while over 800 people had been displaced by the fighting according to the International Committee of the Red Cross . At least 3 civilians were killed . During clashes in the Jasosan and Alotan heights the next day , Iranian forces claimed to have killed over 21 PJAK fighters , confirming that two IRGC forces had been killed and two had been injured during the clashes . On August 1 , at request of the Kurdistan Regional Government , Iran halted its offensive and gave PJAK forces a one month grace period during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to retreat all their forces from Iranian territory . Sabotage of the Tabriz - Ankara pipeline . On July 29 , suspected PJAK militants blew up the Tabriz – Ankara pipeline , which was repaired the next day . On August 1 , Iranian forces killed 3 and arrested 4 of the militants said to be responsible for the attack in West Azerbaijan . At least one of them was a Turkish citizen . The Turkish citizen was later confirmed to be Murat Karasac alias " Cemil " , who was reported to be the leader of the group that carried out the attack and was one of the 3 killed in the fighting . It was later reported in Turkish media that he was the PJAK ' s number 2 in command . Cease - fire attempts . On August 8 , 2011 , Abdul Rahman Haji Ahmadi , the leader of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan , said the armed rebel group is prepared to negotiate with Iran and maintained that Kurdish issues need to be solved through “ peaceful means ” . In an exclusive interview with Rudaw , Haji Ahmadi acknowledged that in some cases compromise is inevitable and indicated that PJAK is willing to lay down its arms . He said fighting may not help Kurds secure political and cultural rights in Iran . On August 8 , 2011 , Murat Karayılan , the leader of the Kurdistan Workers ' Party ( PKK ) said they withdrew all PJAK fighters out of Iran and sent them to PKK camps in the Qandil mountains . He said they replaced PJAK forces on the Iranian border with PKK forces to prevent further clashes and called on Iran to end attacks because unlike the PJAK , the PKK was not at war with Iran . Karayılan released the following statement : Alleged Capture of Murat Karayılan . On August 16 , Alaeddin Boroujerdi head of the Iranian parliament ' s foreign affairs committee told Mehr News Agency that the PKK ' s top commander Murat Karayılan had been captured during the IRGC operation , a claim which was dismissed by the PKK , which told Roj TV that Karayılan was fine and free . Later , however , Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also denied the news . Turkish interior minister İdris Naim Şahin said the news confused Murat Karayılan with PJAK commander Murat Karasac , who had been killed by Iranian forces in West Azerbaijan on August 2 . Nonetheless this has led to many conspiracy theories in the media , for instance by Today ' s Zaman columnist Markar Esayan , that Iran was trying to help Cemil Bayik execute an internal coup in the PKK by capturing Karayılan , so that Iran can gain influence over the organisation . Emre Uslu , another columnist for the Today ' s Zaman claimed that Iran had captured Karayılan to gain a political victory in the conflict over PJAK , by getting the PKK to stop supporting them . Pro - PKK think - tank Yusuf Ziyad believed that this was the beginning of the forming of a Shi ' a - Kurdish alliance , by Iran . Ziyad and Hürriyet columnist Kadri Gürsel both believe that this is motivated by Turkish opposition towards the Ba ' ath regime of Bashar al - Assad in Syria . Yeni Şafak daily columnist Abdulkadir Selvi claimed that Iran had , in fact , taken Karayılan out of Qandil and brought him to Urumiyeh to keep him safe from Turkish air raids . Professor Sedat Laçiner , President of the Çanakkale university claimed Iran had released Karayılan and this is proof that they are supporting the PKK . The NATO missile shield in Turkey is also cited as reason for why Iran would want to support the PKK . A later report on Today ' s Zaman said that Murat Karayılan may have actually been injured in the Iranian operation rather than captured . September offensive . On September 2 , Iran renewed its military offensive against PJAK fighters in Northern Iraq in August after the expiring of the Ramadan cease - fire , just days after Turkish officials claimed that their August air strikes against the PKK had killed up to 160 militants ins Iraqi Kurdistan . Iranian sources claimed that the rebels had used the truce to dig tunnels in the Jasosan heights close to Iran ' s border . On September 4 , Iran claimed the offensive had killed and injured 30 PJAK fighters and on September 5 , 2011 , the IRGC rejected a cease - fire declared by the PJAK as meaningless , as long as PJAK forces remained inside the borders of the Islamic Republic . Iran also said its troops had killed 30 PJAK fighters and wounded 40 during the several days of fighting . On September 7 , the Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed PJAK ' s deputy commander Majid Kavian alias " Semko Sarholdan " was killed while commanding an operation in Kutaman . Kavian , the PJAK ' s number 2 man was said to be the group ' s chief operational commander , as the group ' s number 1 leader , Haji Ahmadi lives in Germany . PJAK confirmed Kavian ' s death in a statement on their website which said he had been killed by a shrapnel from tank fire . On September 9 , Iran claimed to have captured 2 more PJAK commanders . On September 21 , the IRGC claimed they had successfully forced the armed PJAK fighters from Iranian territory . End of Operation . On September 29 , 2011 , Iranian sources reported that PJAK officially surrendered with 180 deaths and 300 injured , accepting Iranian demands of retreating one mile from the Iranian border and ceasing armed operations . Iranian ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaei - Far declared that they had cleared all areas of PJAK activities and that they had reached an agreement with the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government , in which they vowed to keep the border peaceful . In October 2011 , President of Iraqi Kurdistan Massoud Barzani stated that the border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan would from now on be safe , after an agreement with PJAK . It was however clear that PJAK withdrawal was made for redeplyment purposes along the Iran - Iraq border . The cease - fire collapsed on late December 2011 , when a clash in Baneh between IRGC resulted in mortal casualties . Casualties . On August 5 , the leader of Party of free Life for Kurdistan , Rahman Haj Ahmedi , said to Newsmax that more than 300 Iranian Revolutionary Guards had been killed in a series of ambushes , while acknowledging 16 losses . Iranian officials however , claimed to have killed over 150 PJAK forces during the operations , confirming the deaths of only 17 Revolutionary Guards . More were killed in the August cross - border offensives , while Iran claimed to have also killed 30 PJAK fighters and wounded 40 in early September . According to IRGC Brigadier General Abdullah Araqi , 180 PJAK fighters were killed and 300 injured by the end of the operation .