Turkey drone attack kills 4 PKK members in Iraqi Kurdistan: Kurdish officials
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— A drone strike carried out by Turkey on Friday resulted in the death of four suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members and injured one in Iraq’s northern province of Sulaimani, the Iraqi Kurdistan’s counterterrorism service said in a statment.
Turkey has been involved in a long-standing campaign against PKK militants and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in both Iraqi Kurdistan (Bakur) and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), labeling them as “terrorist” groups.
The incident on Friday occurred at approximately 8:00 pm when a Turkish army drone targeted the vehicle of the PKK fighters near the village of Rangina in Sharbazher district, north of Sulaimani. The attack led to the death of four militants, and one was wounded. The vehicle was hit twice within a span of 10 minutes, as reported by Iraqi Kurdistan’s anti-terrorism services.
In May, there were two separate raids in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sinjar district that killed six Yazidi fighters affiliated with the PKK. Local security officials attributed these strikes to Ankara.
Earlier, in late February and early March, there were more strikes in the region, which the anti-terrorism service attributed to Turkey. These attacks killed fighters from the Sinjar Resistance Units, a movement that formed to combat the Islamic State group after their atrocities against thousands of Yazidi men and women.
Turkey’s military activities in the region have led to accusations of tolerance by both the Iraqi federal authorities and the Kurdistan regional government, who seek to maintain close economic ties with Turkey.
There is an upcoming visit by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s office mentioned on Tuesday without providing a specific date. The meeting is expected to focus on economic matters and address the sensitive issue of water.
Baghdad has raised concerns about the impact of upstream dams constructed by Turkey on major rivers shared with Iraq, exacerbating water shortages in the drought-hit country in recent years.
In 1984, the PKK took up arms against the Turkish state, aiming to secure greater autonomy in Turkish Kurdistan for the Kurdish minority, which accounts for over 22.5 million of the country’s 85-million population. However, the Turkish state has consistently denied their constitutional existence and their demand for autonomy. The conflict has resulted in the loss of over 40,000 lives, including both Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas.
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Turkish drone kills 4 SDF members in Syrian Kurdistan: SDF
QAMISHLO, Syrian Kurdistan,— A Turkish drone strike near the Turkey-Syria border killed on Friday four members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the autonomous Kurdish administration in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) said.
In recent weeks, Turkey has escalated its drone attacks on regions controlled by the Kurdish administration in Syria, carrying out these strikes on a regular basis.
The SDF, backed by the United States, played a significant role in driving out Islamic State group fighters from Syria’s last remaining territories in 2019.
According to a press release by the SDF, the drone attack on Friday targeted a village in the Amuda region, resulting in the loss of four fighters from a self-defense group.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor with reliable sources on the ground, reported that the drone struck a training camp in Hasaka province, killing four SDF members and injuring eight. This was the second Turkish drone strike in Hasaka within 24 hours, with a previous attack on Thursday claiming the lives of three SDF fighters when their vehicles were targeted near the border.
Ankara views the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the dominant faction within the SDF, as an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). On Friday, On Friday, another Turkish drone attack killed four alleged PKK members in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Three employees of the autonomous Kurdish administration killed on June 20th by a Turkish drone strike.
Figures from the Syrian Observatory indicate that, since the start of the year, Turkish drone strikes have caused the loss of 48 lives in Kurdish-majority areas, comprising 10 civilians and 35 members of the SDF or allied fighters.
Additionally, Turkey has conducted several ground operations since 2016 to displace Kurdish forces from northern Syrian border areas.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched three incursions into northern Syria, capturing extensive stretches of Kurdish land and penetrating around 30 kilometers into the country. These military operations primarily focused on targeting the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its powerful military wings, the YPG/YPJ, have earned recognition as the most effective fighting force against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The United States has provided them with arms to support their efforts. The YPG, serving as the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), serving as the de facto army for the autonomous Kurdish administration in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), has successfully captured large areas of Syria from the Islamic State.
In 2013, the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which serves as the political wing of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), established three autonomous Cantons named Jazeera, Kobani, and Afrin, establishing a Kurdish government across Syrian Kurdistan. Later, on March 17, 2016, Kurdish and Arab authorities jointly declared the formation of a “federal region” comprising these semi-autonomous areas within Syrian Kurdistan.
Subsequently, on January 20, 2018, Turkey initiated a military operation against the YPG in the Kurdish canton of Afrin. This operation was backed by Syrian Islamic mercenary fighters, resulting in the YPG being forced out of Afrin on March 18.
On September 6, 2018, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was declared in Ain Issa. Ever since, the Autonomous Administration has been responsible for implementing the principles of democratic confederalism in various municipalities and regions across North-East Syria.
The worldwide-respected PYD-led Autonomous Administration in northern Syria operates under a secular and decentralized self-rule model, with a strong emphasis on promoting equality between men and women, fostering direct democracy, and prioritizing environmental responsibility.
Turkey opposes and fears the establishment of an autonomous region for the Kurds in northern Syria similar to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq or the creation of an independent Kurdish state, according to experts.
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