Seven members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), including two medical personnel, were killed in Turkish drone strikes in Iraq’s northern province of Erbil, according to the counter-terrorism service. In a statement earlier on Thursday, the service said that three PKK fighters were killed in Sidakan district when a Turkish drone targeted their vehicle. Later in the day, another drone strike in the Sidakan area killed four PKK members, including two medical personnel. These attacks coincided with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to Erbil, where he met with top Kurdish officials such as President Nechervan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently called on Iraq to classify the PKK as a terrorist organization during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart. Turkey regularly conducts airstrikes in northern Iraq and has multiple outposts on Iraqi soil. However, in recent days, the country has intensified its drone attacks, aiming closer to urban areas and main roads.
The PKK is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. With bases scattered across northern Iraq, the group initiated an insurgency in southeastern Turkey back in 1984, resulting in a death toll exceeding 40,000 individuals.
Reported by Ali Sultan and Amina Ismail; Edited by Sandra Maler
Credit: The Star : News Feed
