Ilam is a predominantly Kurdish Shia province in western Iran, bordering Iraq. It is one of Iran's least populous provinces and was heavily affected by the 1980s Iran-Iraq War. In 2026, it was identified as one of five Iranian border provinces where wartime arrests of Kurdish detainees were documented.Source: Hengaw

How many people were arrested in Ilam during the Iran war 2026?

Hengaw documented at least 1,700 wartime arrests across five Iranian border provinces including Ilam in the first month of the conflict, with more than 300 Kurdish detainees named across the five provinces. The report received almost no international coverage.Source: Hengaw

How did the Iran-Iraq conflict 2026 affect Kurdish border provinces?

Hengaw reported that in four Kurdish-majority provinces including Ilam, at least 1,480 military personnel were killed across more than 240 targeted bases in the first three weeks of the conflict, alongside 98 civilians.Source: Hengaw

Background

Ilam is a predominantly Kurdish Shia province in western Iran, sharing a long border with Iraq. It is one of Iran's least populous and most economically marginalised provinces, historically shaped by the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, which devastated its towns. The border region has long been a corridor for cross-border trade, smuggling, and intermittent Kurdish militant movement.

Ilam province became a documented wartime detention zone in early 2026. Hengaw reported at least 1,700 wartime arrests across five Iranian border provinces in the first month of the conflict, with more than 300 Kurdish detainees across Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran — a report that received almost no international coverage. Earlier Hengaw data identified Ilam as one of four Kurdish-majority provinces where at least 1,480 military personnel were killed across more than 240 targeted bases.

Ilam's wartime significance lies in a tension the regime has not resolved: the province is majority Shia yet majority Kurdish, making its population simultaneously a presumed loyalist bloc and a surveillance target. The documented surge in Kurdish arrests suggests the state treated ethnic identity as a threat indicator regardless of sectarian affiliation, a posture that risks alienating a border population whose cooperation matters for territorial control.

More questions

What is the difference between Ilam and Kurdistan province in the Iran war?

Both are Kurdish-majority Iranian border provinces targeted in wartime arrest sweeps. Kurdistan province has a higher profile in international reporting; Ilam is smaller, predominantly Shia Kurdish, and its wartime detainee data from Hengaw received almost no coverage abroad.Source: Hengaw

Is Ilam a Kurdish or Shia province?

Ilam is both: it has a Kurdish ethnic majority and a Shia Muslim majority, which distinguishes it from most other Kurdish regions in Iran and Iraq. This dual identity has shaped its complex relationship with the Iranian state, which treats Kurdish ethnicity as a security risk even among Shia populations.

How the World Sees Them

Iran

Tehran treats Ilam as a loyal Shia border buffer despite its Kurdish majority. The March 2026 arrest wave signals the regime prioritised ethnic surveillance over sectarian trust at a critical frontier.

Hengaw

Hengaw has documented Ilam as part of a systematic wartime crackdown on Kurdish border provinces. Its March 2026 arrest report on Ilam received almost no international coverage despite naming over 300 Kurdish detainees.

Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdish authorities watch Ilam closely as a mirror of cross-border Kurdish vulnerability. Wartime arrests in Ilam have deepened concern about spillover repression reaching their own border communities.

Western observers

Western human rights bodies have largely overlooked Ilam in conflict reporting, focusing on higher-profile provinces. Hengaw's data suggests the province's wartime detention figures are significantly under-reported internationally.