Kurdistan
The aftermath of the drone attack on Iraqi border guards in Zakho on July 5, 2023. Photo: CTD
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s border guards on Wednesday were targeted by a drone in Zakho administration’s Batifa town where frequent clashes take place between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to counter-terrorism forces.
The Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said in a Facebook post late Wednesday that a military base of the Iraqi border guards located between Dukare and Barushka villages in Batifa district was hit by an explosive-laden drone but “did not cause any casualties.”
It is not clear who carried out the aerial attack but the area is known as a war zone frequently bombarded by Turkey on the grounds of targeting the PKK fighters.
CTD described it as a “terrorist attack.”
The PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but it is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara.
Turkey’s armed clashes with the PKK have turned hundreds of villages in the Kurdistan Region’s border areas into war zones. A large number of them have been evacuated due to constant bombardment.
Turkey has recently upped its attacks against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region. It has also intensified its targeting of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria due to their alleged ties with the PKK.
Iraq’s border guards have in recent years increased their military bases in Duhok province in a bid to minimise the effect of PKK-Turkey clashes on civilians.
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