ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An unidentified drone struck a village near Sulaimani province’s Chamchamal district on Monday morning, a local official told Rudaw, with no confirmed reports of casualties.
Hemin Bahjat, mayor of Chamchamal’s Aghjalar subdistrict told Rudaw that a drone hit the vicinity of Chnartu village in the subdistrict, adding that the damages caused by the attacks are still unknown.
Bahjat said the drone had been flying over the sky of the subdistrict since Sunday night.
The drone has yet to be identified.
The area has previously been targeted by Turkey on the grounds of the alleged presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Neither Turkey nor the PKK have made any official comments.
A drone strike on Wednesday, suspected to be Turkish, targeted the Tutaqalli village in the subdistrict. Residents of Aghjalar told Rudaw’s reporter on the ground that the strikes targeted the PKK fighters in the area and that there were casualties who were transported from the area by the armed group.
On Thursday, Chnartu was hit by another unidentified drone strike. No casualties or material losses were reported.
In August, a PKK official was reportedly killed and a fighter injured near Aghjalar as a result of a suspected Turkish airstrike.
The attack comes amid an escalation of violence between Turkey and PKK, after the armed group killed 12 soldiers in the Kurdistan Region in late December, and Turkey started conducting retaliatory strikes on the PKK and its alleged offshoots in Syria.
Turkish officials have repeatedly accused Sulaimani authorities of supporting the PKK. Turkish forces often carry out aerial attacks in the province on the grounds of targeting the PKK.
A flight ban on Sulaimani International Airport by Turkey has been in place since April 3, 2023. The Turkish foreign ministry has said that the ban, which is to remain in effect until June 2024, is related to the alleged “intensification” of PKK activity in Sulaimani.
Hemin Bahjat, mayor of Chamchamal’s Aghjalar subdistrict told Rudaw that a drone hit the vicinity of Chnartu village in the subdistrict, adding that the damages caused by the attacks are still unknown.
Bahjat said the drone had been flying over the sky of the subdistrict since Sunday night.
The drone has yet to be identified.
The area has previously been targeted by Turkey on the grounds of the alleged presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Neither Turkey nor the PKK have made any official comments.
A drone strike on Wednesday, suspected to be Turkish, targeted the Tutaqalli village in the subdistrict. Residents of Aghjalar told Rudaw’s reporter on the ground that the strikes targeted the PKK fighters in the area and that there were casualties who were transported from the area by the armed group.
On Thursday, Chnartu was hit by another unidentified drone strike. No casualties or material losses were reported.
In August, a PKK official was reportedly killed and a fighter injured near Aghjalar as a result of a suspected Turkish airstrike.
The attack comes amid an escalation of violence between Turkey and PKK, after the armed group killed 12 soldiers in the Kurdistan Region in late December, and Turkey started conducting retaliatory strikes on the PKK and its alleged offshoots in Syria.
Turkish officials have repeatedly accused Sulaimani authorities of supporting the PKK. Turkish forces often carry out aerial attacks in the province on the grounds of targeting the PKK.
A flight ban on Sulaimani International Airport by Turkey has been in place since April 3, 2023. The Turkish foreign ministry has said that the ban, which is to remain in effect until June 2024, is related to the alleged “intensification” of PKK activity in Sulaimani.
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