ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Residents of northern Duhok’s Amedi district say more than an hour of heavy bombardment by Turkish planes on Saturday morning spread fear through their villages. “There were no casualties, but this time the bombing was very intense and caused fear and anxiety for the residents in the area,” Halkaft Doski, a resident of Deraluk, told Rudaw’s Nasr Ali. According to Doski, Turkish planes bombed the Metina and Gara mountains between 10:00 and 11:30 am. Videos submitted to Rudaw show smoke rising from mountainsides overlooking villages. Turkish forces frequently carry out military assaults in the Kurdistan Region, targeting suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in the mountains where the group has its headquarters. The PKK is an armed group that for decades has fought for greater Kurdish political and cultural rights in Turkey. Ankara has designated it a terror organization. Media close to the PKK reported an increase in attacks by Turkey in May, during Turkish presidential and parliamentary election campaigning. In the last two days of May, the PKK said Turkish forces carried out 10 airstrikes against them in the Kurdistan Region, according to Firat news agency. A suspected Turkish drone strike on Shingal injured two fighters reportedly affiliated with the PKK. Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire. Dozens have been killed and hundreds of villages emptied.
