The bombardment started around 9 p.m. on Monday about 20 kilometres from Kolka, chieftain Sadeq Aziz told Rudaw. The Turkish Army was targeting alleged positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), he said.
The shelling lasted for about two hours, Aziz added, describing the villagers as "terrified."
Ghafour Mala Swar, the mayor of nearby Mergasor, said Turkey was using helicopters to target Mount Kawaret. He said they have not seen PKK active in the area.
Kolka is located in the Mergasor district.
Turkey’s Ministry of Defence announced on Monday they had targeted PKK positions in the Khaukurk and Avasin areas along the border area, destroying some weapons' positions and shelters.
Aziz believes Turkey’s shelling may be in retaliation for a recent attack by the PKK who he said killed a number of Turkish soldiers in barracks near his village.
A resident of Kolka confirmed the PKK recently carried out an attack on Turkish soldiers near the village.
“The Turkish military base is opposite our village. A few days ago, the PKK attacked them. Because of this, the Turkish Army has fortified their base. The perimeter of the base is fortified with electricity,” a source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Rudaw.
Turkey has a military base on top of a hill overlooking Kolka village, Erbil province, according to a villager. Photo: submitted
The village itself has not been targeted, the source added, but people are afraid because of the intensity and proximity of the shelling.
Video shared on a local Facebook page showed intense shelling Monday night.
Rudaw could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage.
Turkey regularly conducts military operations against alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains. Two Turkish soldiers were killed in a skirmish last month.
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