PUK security forces say they foiled plan to kill Bafel Talabani

SULAIMANI,— Security forces loyal to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announced on Wednesday that they had disrupted an alleged plan to assassinate the party’s leader, Bafel Talabani, in what appears to be the latest escalation in a bitter internal rivalry.

In a video released by a PUK-affiliated security agency, six men identified as members of Lahur Talabani’s guard unit said they were instructed to kill him.

The footage included what appeared to be sniper rifles equipped with silencers and positioned at a window facing the party leader’s headquarters.

The suspects described renting an apartment in a high-rise building near the site as part of the plan.

According to the security agency, the men claimed they acted under orders from Lahur Sheikh Jangi Talabani, former PUK co-chair, who leads the rival People’s Front (Baray Gel) and is the cousin of Bafel Talabani.

A representative of the People’s Front, however, accused the PUK of exploiting judicial and security institutions to eliminate political opponents.

The revelations came days after PUK forces arrested Lahur Talabani during a raid on a hotel in Sulaimani city.

The raid, which began late Thursday and stretched into the early hours of Friday, erupted into a four-hour gun battle with fighters loyal to Lahur.

Police and hospital officials reported that three PUK commandos and two of Lahur’s men were killed in the exchange.

Lahur Sheikh Jangi Talabani arrested in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan, August 22, 2025. Photo: Video/SM

Security officials said that more than 160 of Lahur Talabani’s supporters were taken into custody along with him.

Judicial authorities said a court in Sulaimani had issued a warrant charging him with attempted murder and efforts to destabilize security in the city.

Location near Lalazar Hotel in Sulaimani city, where Lahur Sheikh Jangi Talabani was arrested on August 22, 2025, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: Channel8.com

People familiar with the situation described the arrest as part of a wider contest for influence in Sulaimani, a key PUK stronghold. Lahur Talabani once served as co-president of the PUK, but he was forced from the leadership in 2021 after a power struggle within the party.

“The deployment of tanks and hundreds of armored vehicles to detain a political figure has nothing to do with democratic or legal principles,” a representative of the People’s Front said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The confrontation is being viewed as one of the most significant armed disputes among Kurdish factions since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, raising concerns that the tensions could erode the relative stability long maintained by Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.