ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Clashes erupted on Sunday between the Iraqi Army and a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) affiliate group in Shingal, but left no casualties.
Skirmishes broke out after Iraqi forces asked the PKK-affiliated YBS to remove a checkpoint near a village in western Shingal.
"The Iraqi army asked the YBS forces to remove a checkpoint," said Fahad Hamid, mayor of Shingal town, speaking of the Shingal Protection Units.
Hamid added the fight also erupted over "vehicles associated with the YBS which commute in the Iraqi army controlled areas and have no registrations or car plates."
There were attempts for a meeting between officials from both sides to resolve the issue, Hamid added.
After Turkish airstrikes in Shingal in August killed Zaki Shingali, a top PKK leader and Turkish national, relations between the Iraqi Army and the PKK have deteriorated.
Harbo Khidir, a PKK official in Shingal, has accused the Iraqi Army of providing intelligence to Turkey so they could target Zaki's convoy.
Turkish officials consider the PKK a threat to their border security and actively conduct strikes in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as some areas of Syrian Kurdistan like Rojava.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered foreign fighters in Shingal to leave earlier this year.
Skirmishes broke out after Iraqi forces asked the PKK-affiliated YBS to remove a checkpoint near a village in western Shingal.
"The Iraqi army asked the YBS forces to remove a checkpoint," said Fahad Hamid, mayor of Shingal town, speaking of the Shingal Protection Units.
Hamid added the fight also erupted over "vehicles associated with the YBS which commute in the Iraqi army controlled areas and have no registrations or car plates."
The official said the fight in the Yezidi homeland lasted for an hour, but had no casualties.
There were attempts for a meeting between officials from both sides to resolve the issue, Hamid added.
After Turkish airstrikes in Shingal in August killed Zaki Shingali, a top PKK leader and Turkish national, relations between the Iraqi Army and the PKK have deteriorated.
Harbo Khidir, a PKK official in Shingal, has accused the Iraqi Army of providing intelligence to Turkey so they could target Zaki's convoy.
Turkish officials consider the PKK a threat to their border security and actively conduct strikes in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as well as some areas of Syrian Kurdistan like Rojava.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered foreign fighters in Shingal to leave earlier this year.
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