ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey bombed at least three areas in the Kurdistan Region on Friday, injuring two children and killing hundreds of sheep, according to local sources. The attacks come just days after Turkey’s defense minister visited Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Mohammed Sheikhzade is a villager living in Gri in Duhok’s Chamanke district, at the foot of Gara mountain near the border with Turkey. “Turkish warplanes bombarded the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions today at 2:30pm. A bomb hit near our house, breaking the window glass. As a result, my brothers Salih, 10, and Islam, 15, were injured due to the broken glass,” he told Rudaw.
The mayor of Chamanke, Alend Amir, confirmed the bombardment and the injuries, saying “both injured people were moved to Chamanke Hospital and were given necessary treatment.”
Turkey’s defense ministry said in a statement Friday afternoon that they “neutralized” four members of the PKK in an airstrike in the Gara area of Duhok province. Ankara uses the word “neutralize” to denote death, injury, or capture of its adversaries.
Turkey launched a new air and ground military operation in the Kurdistan Region in mid-June last year, on the grounds of targeting alleged PKK positions. The ground operation was “successfully completed” in September but the air campaign still continues.
Two villages in the Haji Omran district of Erbil province, on the Iranian border, were also bombarded on Friday.
Abdulwahab Mahmoud, mayor of Haji Omran, told Rudaw that the eastern parts of Gundazhur village came under attack by Turkey. But the village “is usually empty during this season, so there were no casualties.”
Bardarukhaw village was also bombed, he confirmed.
In a third area, Turkish warplanes hit a barn in Chikan village in the Choman district of Erbil province, killing hundreds of sheep. In video submitted to Rudaw, the bombing appeared to take place near a busy road.
In a second statement, Turkey’s defense ministry claimed it "neutralized" three PKK fighters in the Khakurk region, referring to a broad area on Kurdistan Region's border with Turkey and Iran, including Haji Omran.
This week, Turkey’s defense minister Hulusi Akar visited Baghdad and Erbil. In his meetings with Kurdish and Iraqi leaders, he said Turkey will continue its fight against the PKK in Iraq.
Updated at 7:11 pm
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