SULAIMANI,— Authorities in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said on Wednesday they prevented an attempt to assassinate Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). A video released by a PUK security unit showed six guards claiming they were told to kill the party leader. PUK-led forces detained Lahur Talabani on Friday after a late-night raid on a Sulaimani hotel. Lahur Talabani had served as co-president of the PUK until a leadership dispute removed him in 2021. The incident marks the most serious internal conflict among Kurdish factions in Iraqi Kurdistan since Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003.