In a shocking incident that occurred in the early hours of Friday, July 7th, 2023, two prominent members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, Luqman Aji and Adel Mohajer, fell victim to an assassination in the tourist village of Helsho, located within the Qaladze district of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan. The assailant, identified as Rasul Azarakhsh, fled to Iran after carrying out the attack.

Luqman Aji, also known as "Luqman Gargoli," and Adel Mohajer, known as "Sarbaz Mohajer," both originally from Piranshahr, were targeted in this heinous act.

The Hengaw organization for Human Rights received a report detailing the incident and preliminary investigations suggest that Rasul Azarakhsh was the perpetrator. Another political activist, Saadi Moradpour, who was formerly associated with the Democratic Party, sustained severe injuries in the attack.

According to Hengaw's sources, Rasul Azarakhsh, originally from Naghadeh, had previously been affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran. However, six years ago, he severed ties with the organization and returned to Iran. It is believed that he subsequently joined the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Under the pretext of job hunting, Azarakhsh recently visited the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where he orchestrated a friendly meeting in a tourist area and invited the victims, who had a history of friendship. It was during this gathering that he carried out the assassination.

Immediately after the attack, Rasul Azarakhsh swiftly fled to the Islamic Republic of Iran and sought refuge with the security forces at the Qaladze border. Meanwhile, Saadi Moradpour has been taken into custody by the security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for further investigation.

Authorities from the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have refrained from issuing official statements regarding the incident at this time. However, it is worth noting that over the past decades, the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have been implicated in multiple assassinations of Iranian Kurdish political and human rights activists on Iraqi Kurdistan soil.

The assassination of Luqman Aji and Adel Mohajer serves as a distressing reminder of the risks faced by Kurdish activists, highlighting the need for increased security measures and international attention to protect the lives and rights of individuals advocating for Kurdish rights and democracy in the region.