ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four people were killed in a drone strike that targeted a vehicle in eastern Sulaimani province on Friday, according to a local official. The attack, suspected to be carried out by Turkey according to some reports, also sparked a fire in the unpopulated area.
Shaho Osman, mayor of Chwarta district in Sharbazher where the attack occurred, told Rudaw that a vehicle was targeted by an unidentified drone in Rangina village, adding that the strike also started fire in the area.
Salam Omar, the mayor of the nearby Zalan subdistrict, said “four people were in the vehicle and all of them died.”
The local officials did not identify the dead or say who was behind the strike. Media close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Rojnews, said the attack was carried out by Turkey.
“We do not have the details. The civil defense and health teams and security forces have been deployed to the area,” said Osman.
Drones were spotted flying over the Sharbazer area late Friday night, more than three hours after the strike, according to Rudaw's reporter on the ground.
The Sharbazer area is often targeted by Turkish air forces claiming to fight the PKK, an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and combats it at home as well as in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
Neither Turkey nor the PKK have commented on the attack.
Updated at 11:17 pm
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