ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two children, including a one-month-old baby, were killed in an explosion at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Duhok province on Monday night, according to a health official.
“At 10:15 we were told that an explosion had occurred at Qadia camp and there were injuries. Our teams got there immediately. We received five of the injured. Of those five injured, two of them died before they arrived,” Abdulstar Mustafa, deputy head of Zakho emergency hospital, told Rudaw’s Yousif Musa.
Two children, including a one-month-old baby, were killed in the incident, according to Amir Ali, head of the Duhok health department's media office. Two children, aged four and nine, were injured, as well as a 63-year-old man.
Qadia camp houses Yazidi IDPs from the Shingal area.
Hassan Ibrahim, the grandfather of the deceased, told Rudaw an explosive device was put under their caravan. He was injured in the explosion and taken to hospital for treatment.
Witnesses from the camp said they heard a loud noise but did not know what was the cause.
“We predict that it was the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party], because they threatened Sheikh Hassan in 2011 and they also threatened Ghazi, our Asayish officer. That’s why I predict it’s the PKK otherwise Sheikh Ghazi didn’t have problems with anyone,” said Major-General Shvan Sndi, head of Zakho's Asayish (internal security force).
A PKK umbrella group denied any involvement in the incident and placed the blame on Turkey. “All witness accounts and the manner of the explosion indicate that this was an attack by the Turkish state,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK).
The KCK accused members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in Duhok, of rushing to blame the PKK. Longstanding animosity between the PKK and KDP has intensified recently, sparking fears of an intra-Kurdish conflict.
Police are investigating the incident.
Updated 31st August, 7:16pm
