Erdogan claims Turkey killed senior PKK official in Makhmour attack

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed Turkey killed a senior official of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in an attack near Makhmour refugee camp which left three people dead on Saturday. 

Selman Bozkir, who Erdogan claims was a senior PKK official and head of the camp, was “neutralised” by intelligence forces, the president tweeted on Sunday afternoon.

Three people died in an airstrike near the camp, home to more than 12,000 Kurdish refugees who fled state persecution in Turkey, which was confirmed by a Peshmerga commander in the area. The camp is located in territory disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, and is believed by Turkey to have close ties with the PKK, which is designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara.

The PKK, which fights for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey, has its headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil mountains. 

On Wednesday, Erdogan indicated that Makhmour – which he described as an “incubation nest” for the PKK – would soon be targeted. He used similar language on Sunday, saying Turkey will not allow the PKK to use the camp as an “incubation centre for terrorism.” 

The attack comes amid ongoing Turkish operations in Duhok province, said to be targeting the PKK. Numerous civilians have been injured in recent airstrikes, and villages emptied amid fear of further Turkish bombings.