Mazloum Abdi blames Turkey for Sulaimani drone attack

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on Saturday blamed Turkey for the Friday drone attack near Sulaimani’s airport. He did not confirm he was the target as reported by US officials.

A drone strike hit near the perimeter of Sulaimani’s airport and was first reported by local authorities as an explosion with no mention of a cause or persons involved. Unnamed US officials told the Wall Street Journal that Abdi was in a convoy that was targeted. The SDF dismissed the reports as “fake news.”

In his own statement, Abdi did not confirm he was the target, but he did assign blame. "We strongly condemn the targeting of Sulaimani airport by Turkey,” he said in reply to a tweet from Bafel Talabani, leader of Sulaimani’s ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

“These violations continue in Iraq and Syria and have serious implications for the region,” added Abdi without confirming that he was the target. Turkey regularly carries out drone strikes against alleged PKK targets in the Kurdistan Region and northeast Syria, as well as ground invasions in both countries.

Turkey has denied responsibility. "Turkish armed forces undertook no such activity," a defence ministry source told AFP.

US Department of Defence Spokesperson Philip Ventura told Rudaw in an email early Saturday that an American convoy was struck in Sulaimani city. “We can confirm there was a strike on a convoy Friday in Sulaymaniyah that included U.S. military personnel. Fortunately, we can also confirm there were no casualties,” Ventura said, adding that an investigation is underway. He did not mention Abdi or speculate who carried out the strike.

According to the Wall Street Journal, some Western officials have said they suspect Ankara was behind the attack.

The Iraqi presidency also blamed Turkey.

“We call on the Turkish government to take responsibility, to offer an official apology for these actions, to stop these attacks, and to solve their internal problems by opening the channels of dialogue with the concerned parties,” read the presidency’s statement.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pointed a finger of blame at the PUK, which is accused by Turkey of being close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara.

The strike comes a few days after Turkey imposed a three-month flight ban on Sulaimani’s airport because of what Turkey’s foreign ministry dubbed “infiltration” by the PKK.

The ban is believed to be related to a helicopter crash in Duhok province on March 15, killing nine anti-terrorism forces affiliated with the US-backed SDF, including a close relative of Abdi, who were travelling to Sulaimani. Ankara accuses the SDF’s backbone, People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being the Syrian wing of the PKK.

Updated at 2:42 pm

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