Iraq
Aftermath of the suspected Turkish drone strike on Shingal on April 16, 2023. Photo: Social media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Turkish drone strike on the Yazidi heartland of Shingal on Tuesday killed three fighters of an all-Yazidi force linked with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Kurdish counterterrorism forces said.
“At 12:00 pm, a Turkish army drone targeted a base of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) fighters in Khanasor locality of Shingal district, killing 3 fighters and wounding another,” the Erbil-based Kurdistan CT said.
The attack blamed on Turkey is the latest in a series of deadly drone strikes by Ankara on the Kurdistan Region, claiming to target PKK fighters and their alleged proxies.
The PKK is a Kurdish force fighting for the increased political and cultural rights of Kurds in Turkey and has waged an armed insurgency against Ankara for decades. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, who frequently targets the group and its alleged offshoots through military operations and drone strikes in the Kurdistan Region and Syria.
Ankara has not commented on Tuesday’s strike.
In late February, a Turkish drone strike killed two commanders of the YBS, which is an all-Yazidi force affiliated to the PKK that was formed immediately after the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group swept through swathes of northern Iraq and seized control of Shingal, killing and kidnapping thousands of Yazidis. It is considered as an offshoot of the PKK by Ankara.
YBS has controlled parts of Shingal since ISIS was defeated in the town but the presence of the force and several other forces in the district has been blamed for insecurity which has prevented thousands of its residents who fled due to the war on ISIS from returning. The YBS also attract Turkish airstrikes against the district.
Last month, another Turkish drone strike on several villages in Sulaimani’s Penjwen district killed at least two people and injured two others. An anonymous source told Rudaw at the time that the strikes targeted PKK fighters.
A drone strike on April 7 targeted a convoy of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Commander Mazloum Abdi in the vicinity of Sulaimani International Airport. US troops were also present among the SDF convoy. Iraq and the SDF have blamed Turkey.
Turkey considers the SDF and its backbone – the People's Protection Units (YPG) – as a Syrian front for the PKK and views the force as a terrorist organization.
“At 12:00 pm, a Turkish army drone targeted a base of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) fighters in Khanasor locality of Shingal district, killing 3 fighters and wounding another,” the Erbil-based Kurdistan CT said.
The attack blamed on Turkey is the latest in a series of deadly drone strikes by Ankara on the Kurdistan Region, claiming to target PKK fighters and their alleged proxies.
The PKK is a Kurdish force fighting for the increased political and cultural rights of Kurds in Turkey and has waged an armed insurgency against Ankara for decades. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, who frequently targets the group and its alleged offshoots through military operations and drone strikes in the Kurdistan Region and Syria.
Ankara has not commented on Tuesday’s strike.
In late February, a Turkish drone strike killed two commanders of the YBS, which is an all-Yazidi force affiliated to the PKK that was formed immediately after the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group swept through swathes of northern Iraq and seized control of Shingal, killing and kidnapping thousands of Yazidis. It is considered as an offshoot of the PKK by Ankara.
YBS has controlled parts of Shingal since ISIS was defeated in the town but the presence of the force and several other forces in the district has been blamed for insecurity which has prevented thousands of its residents who fled due to the war on ISIS from returning. The YBS also attract Turkish airstrikes against the district.
Last month, another Turkish drone strike on several villages in Sulaimani’s Penjwen district killed at least two people and injured two others. An anonymous source told Rudaw at the time that the strikes targeted PKK fighters.
A drone strike on April 7 targeted a convoy of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Commander Mazloum Abdi in the vicinity of Sulaimani International Airport. US troops were also present among the SDF convoy. Iraq and the SDF have blamed Turkey.
Turkey considers the SDF and its backbone – the People's Protection Units (YPG) – as a Syrian front for the PKK and views the force as a terrorist organization.
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