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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A Peshmerga was killed by a suspected sniper in Zakho district on Tuesday morning while on a joint mission with border guards to hold a strategic point in the area near the Turkish border where Turkey is carrying out operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a commander told Rudaw.
“A group of border guards with the support of Peshmerga forces were going forward to control a strategic point at Darkar sub-district when two shots were fired. As a result a Peshmerga was martyred,” Brig. Gen. Dler Zebari, a commander of Iraqi border guards, told Rudaw, adding that the source of the shots is unknown.
Zebari identified the Peshmerga who was killed as Razwan Mohammed from Zakho.
“There were only two shots fired. It seems it was a sniper who unfortunately martyred a Peshmerga,” Zebari added.
The Ministry of Peshmerga condemned the act and blamed it on the PKK in a Facebook statement later on Tuesday. “The PKK forces must understand that with these actions nothing will be achieved and that our people will pay a big price.”
They called on the Iraqi government to intervene and show their “active and effective role in stopping” the violations at the border areas of the Region.
The shooting comes three days after five Peshmerga were killed and seven injured in Duhok’s Amedi district in an attack the Peshmerga ministry has blamed on the PKK. Deputy Peshmerga Minister Sarbast Lazgin told Rudaw they fell into a PKK “trap.”
The PKK denied the allegation, saying they had only fired warning shots to stop Peshmerga forces from nearing their position.
The PKK's military wing, the People's Defence Forces (HPG) command, claimed the incident was caused by an exploding mine, adding they do not want to start a civil war between Kurds.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. The party’s headquarters are based in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region, where the party is most active.
Clashes occasionally take place between the PKK and Peshmerga forces. In early May, clashes erupted between the PKK and Peshmerga’s Halgurd Command, affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Updated at 2:54 PM
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