Turkey strikes kills two civilians in northern Iraq, targeting PKK
In October 2023, Kurdish fighters from the PKK group claimed responsibility for attack in Ankara
Erbil – Two people were killed Friday in a strike on the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, an official said, accusing Turkey of being behind the raid.
Turkey frequently carries out ground and air operations on positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state — in northern Iraq.
“Two people were killed and two others wounded while they were picking herbs after Turkish warplanes launched strikes” on a remote village in the mountainous region of Sheladiz in Dohuk province, said Razkar Sarki, an official in Sheladiz district.
Local media said two civilians were killed in the raid.
The Turkish military rarely comments on its operations in Iraq.
On February 20, two civilians were killed in a strike that was also blamed on Turkey, security and health officials said at the time.
Turkey has over the past 25 years operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies consider a “terrorist” group.
Both Baghdad and the regional government of the Iraqi Kurdistan region have been accused of tolerating Turkey’s military activities to preserve their close economic ties.