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Kurdistan
From left: The PKK vehicle targeted by the Turkish airstrike, and the portraits of three of the PKK casualties. Photos: Rudaw/HPG
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) confirmed on Tuesday the death of four of its fighters in a Turkish airstrike in a Duhok village, claiming they were reported to Turkish authorities by “local spies.”
“On the night of May 20, a group of our comrades, who had health issues, were targeted by the Turkish invading state’s airstrike in the vicinity of Mangeshk village in Duhok while returning from treatment. Four of our comrades were martyred,” the PKK’s military arm, People’s Defense Forces (HPG), said in a statement.
“Again, it is understood that some local spies played a role in this incident.”
The airstrike took place in Dulia village, some 35 kilometers north of the city of Duhok. The PKK fighters were travelling inside two vehicles which were later burned in the airstrikes.
Village chief Mahdi Taha told Rudaw on Friday that the PKK fighters were chased by Turkish air forces, and headed to an unpaved road.
Turkish state media reported the airstrike and the four deaths on Monday, publishing a video which reportedly showed the moment both vehicles were struck.
The airstrike comes amid ongoing Turkish operations against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region.
Turkey launched Operation Claw-Thunderbolt and Operation Claw-Lightning late April, focusing on the Metina, Avashin, and Basyan areas of Duhok province, near the border with Turkey.
The PKK is an armed Kurdish group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and a threat to its national security. Turkish forces regularly pursue the PKK within the Kurdistan Region’s borders.
This year, the Kurdistan Region has seen more deadly clashes than Turkey, according to figures compiled by the International Crisis Group, which tracks the conflict. In the first four months of 2021, there have been 67 fatalities, 55 of them (or 82 percent) in the Kurdistan Region. Nineteen of the dead are Turkish soldiers, 34 are PKK fighters, and two are civilians.
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