At least two people were killed and two injured in a strike that took place on Saturday evening April 15 in Iraqi Kurdistan. The operation is attributed to Turkey, Ankara being engaged in a fight against the PKK, a Turkish Kurdish armed group, including on the territory of its neighbors in Syria and Iraq. So far, Turkey remains adamant on the subject, despite international demands to stop such interventions.
Saturday night’s shelling took place in a mountainous area in northern Iraq, near the Iranian border. Drones – presumably Turkish – have, according to a local official quoted by Agence France Presse, targeted a vehicle carrying fighters from the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), a Turkish Kurdish formation considered terrorist by Ankara.
The PKK has set up bases in Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkish strikes against the organization are very frequent. In July 2022, an operation again attributed to Turkey caused the death of nine Iraqi tourists on vacation in the north of the country. The Prime Minister at the time then demanded an apology from Ankara and called for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Iraq. In December, a regional summit called for respect for the territorial integrity of Iraq. Turkey was represented there but only by an ambassador, therefore without a minister.
In fact, Ankara still maintains a military presence in Iraq and, while defending itself against it, continues its operations. Last week, drone strikes targeted Sulaymaniyah airport, where a senior official of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Syrian Kurdish group affiliated with the PKK, was staying. Turkey denies any responsibility, but it is to her that all eyes have turned.
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