Verified video shows city in Iran’s Kurdistan province rocked by explosion

Published March 4, 2026 Updated March 4, 2026 11:46pm

An explosion has rocked a city in Iran’s western Kurdistan province, according to video verified by AFP, on the fifth day of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

Huge columns of smoke rose over the city of Baneh in the morning, according to the verified images. Videos shared of the explosion on social media said it hit a base belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Strikes have also hit across the border in Iraqi Kurdistan, as the war in the Middle East rages across multiple fronts.

An exiled Iranian Kurdish group in Iraq has told AFP a strike around 11:30am local by Iranian forces killed one of its fighters, with the IRGC later confirming it had fired missiles at armed opposition groups in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.

Opinion

Editorial

Collective wisdom
05 Mar, 2026

Collective wisdom

IN times like these, when war is raging in the neighbourhood, it is important for the state to bring on board all...
Economic impact
Updated 05 Mar, 2026

Economic impact

AS the confrontation between the US-Israel combine and Iran escalates across the Middle East, increasing regional...
Shrouds of innocence
05 Mar, 2026

Shrouds of innocence

TWO-and-a-half years of relentless slaughtering of Palestinian children, with complete impunity and in the most...
Regional climbdown
04 Mar, 2026

Regional climbdown

WITH the region in flames, Pakistan must calibrate its foreign policy accordingly; it has to deal with some ...
Burning questions
Updated 04 Mar, 2026

Burning questions

A credible, independent, and time-bound inquiry is now necessary after the US Consulate protest ended in gruesome bloodshed.
Governance failure
04 Mar, 2026

Governance failure

BENEATH Lahore’s signal-free corridors and road infrastructure lies a darker truth: crumbling sewerage lines,...