“We will retaliate for the martyrdom of four people” from the Kurdistan Region, PKK leader Murat Karayilan said in an interview with Denge Welat, a media outlet with ties to the group.
Four young men were killed last week in a Turkish airstrike in the Choman district of the Kurdistan Region.
Turkey frequently targets alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region mountains. The PKK, named a terror organization in Turkey, has its headquarters in Kurdistan’s Qandil Mountains.
Karayilan criticized the KRG’s response to the deaths.
The KRG’s spokesperson Safeen Dizayee, while expressing sadness at the deaths, refrained from directly condemning Turkey and called on the PKK to withdraw from civilian-populated areas.
Erbil’s muted response somehow gives Turkey the right to attack, argued Karayilan. Turkey’s actions are an offensive against all Kurds and all Kurds should condemn them, he stated.
