Turkey has launched an attack with an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) into Iraq. This took place on Sunday (8/6/2023) in the autonomous Kurdistan region.
The drone targeted a vehicle with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters inside, in the Chamchamal district near the second-largest city in Iraqi Kurdistan, Sulaimaniyah. The attack resulted in the death of a PKK military official.
“A PKK military official was killed and another fighter was injured,” stated the Iraq Kurdistan counter-terrorism service, as reported by AFP.
Since 1984, the PKK has been involved in an uprising in Turkey, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands.
The PKK retreated to Northern Iraq, causing Turkey to maintain dozens of military bases on the border. Turkey regularly conducts operations against the PKK militia in this area.
In reality, the Turkish military rarely comments on its attacks against the PKK in the mountains. The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and its Western allies classify the PKK as a “terrorist” organization.
At the end of July, four PKK fighters were killed in the same region in a drone strike also attributed to Turkey by Iraqi Kurdistan. Both the Iraqi federal authorities and the Kurdistan regional government have condemned these actions.
Iraq has emphasized that Turkey’s actions are a violation of the country’s sovereignty and the rights of its civilian population. On July 25th, the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that a meeting with Erdogan would take place, although no further details were provided.
