ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Two people were killed and another wounded in another suspected Turkish airstrike in northern Duhok province Friday, according to a local official. Hamid Zubair, head of Bamarni town, told Rudaw on Friday that casualties were a result of the targeting of a moving vehicle in Aradna village, near the town of Bamarni. “The killed and wounded are yet to be identified,” Zubair added. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is a group fighting for increased rights for the Kurdish minority in Turkey. It has been in conflict with the Turkish state for decades. Turkey launched new operations against the group in the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories of Iraq in mid-June. Air offensive Operation Claw-Eagle began on June 15, with a ground offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger, beginning two days later. Seven civilians have been killed and many injured in Turkish airstrikes since mid-June. This week, three Iraqi border guards, including two commanders, were killed when a Turkish drone targeted their meeting with PKK leaders. A senior PKK commander was also killed. Baghdad condemned the killings, cancelling a planned visit by Turkey’s defence minister and summoning Ankara’s ambassador. Maj. Gen. Tahsin Khafaji, spokesperson of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, told Iraqi state media on Thursday that Iraqi security forces have the military capabilities to faceoff the Turkish attacks in case officials choose a military option over diplomatic efforts to face Turkey’s incursion into Iraq. France’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it condemns any violation of Iraq’s sovereignty. After France, both UAE and Bahrain condemned the Turkish airstrikes in a phone call with their Iraqi counterpart on Friday. Ankara has vowed to continue its campaign against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region mountains “as long as PKK’s presence in Iraq continues to be tolerated,” read a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
