About 20 armed men made an attempt to enter Iran from the Iraqi territory, the Mehr news agency reported, citing the Iranian Border Guard Commander Brig. Gen. Ghasem Rezaei.
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The criminals had to return back to Iraq after Iranian authorities sent reinforcement to the area of clashes, the media outlet added.
The situation in the region escalated after 90 percent of Kurds voted in September in favor of the autonomy's secession from Iraq. Baghdad, for its part, has called the referendum illegal and launched a military operation to recapture the Kurdish-held disputed areas of the country, while also imposing sanctions on Kurdish authorities.