These developments come amid renewed Turkish pressure on Iraq to combat the PKK. [Getty]
Six civilians were killed in two separate airstrikes in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Monday, according to Kurdish activists and lawmakers. The attacks, attributed to Turkish military operations targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), have drawn no immediate response from Iraqi, Kurdish, or international authorities.
Turkey frequently conducts ground and air operations in northern Iraq, citing the PKK’s presence in the area. The group, designated a “terrorist organisation” by Turkey and its Western allies, waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state. However, such operations often result in civilian casualties, according to monitoring groups.
Kamran Othman, a representative of the US-based Community Peacemakers Teams (CPT), confirmed the strikes. He reported on Facebook that the first attack occurred at 3:20 PM in Gardjan village, Chwarqurna subdistrict, in the Raparin administration. A Turkish drone targeted a Toyota Land Cruiser, killing two women and two men. A fifth individual on a nearby motorcycle was injured.
Earlier that day, at 11:30 AM, another Turkish drone strike targeted farmland near Shaheya village in Akre District, Duhok province, killing two civilians engaged in agricultural activities, Othman said in a separate post.
Attempts to obtain official statements from the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have been unsuccessful. Basim Al-Awadi, spokesperson for the Iraqi government, and Peshawa Hawramani, KRG spokesperson, were unavailable for comment. Duhok Police spokesperson Hemn Sulaiman declined to discuss the incident, citing its political nature.
Ali Hama Saleh, head of the National Stance opposition party in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, confirmed the civilian deaths in a Facebook post, and also criticised Kurdish authorities for their silence on the attacks.
These developments come amid renewed Turkish pressure on Iraq to combat the PKK. During a visit to Baghdad on Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged joint efforts against the PKK in Iraq and Syria, accusing the group of threatening regional stability. “The PKK is targeting Turkey, Iraq, and Syria,” Fidan said.
While Baghdad recently listed the PKK as a banned organisation, Ankara has called on Iraq to formally designate the group as a terrorist organisation. Last August, Iraq and Turkey signed a military cooperation agreement to establish joint command and training centres aimed at countering the PKK.
The incident underscores the precarious situation in northern Iraq, where the conflict between Turkey and the PKK continues to impact civilians, drawing criticism from human rights groups and local activists. The lack of official statements from Iraqi and Kurdish authorities has further fuelled frustration among affected communities.
