Injured in Batifa, an area of Zakho town, this is the first Iraqi border guard to be wounded since the recent deployment of the forces to the northern areas of the Region, Commander Dler Farzanda told Rudaw on Thursday morning.
“A little while ago near one of our military points, which is one of the five military points that have been established by our forces, a landmine was triggered and exploded, which resulted in the injuring of one of our border guards,” Farzanda said.
Iraqi border forces established five military bases by all-Kurdish Iraqi border guards in Zakho’s border areas with Turkey last week to prevent Turkish warplanes from conducting further airstrikes in the area.
The soldier was transferred to a hospital in the town of Zakho to receive treatment, according to the commander.
“The landmines in the area are old, and were planted during the era of the Baathist regime,” Farzanda added.
Turkey began air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq's disputed territories in mid-June, with the stated aim of removing suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets from the area. Five civilians have been killed in the operations.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for Kurdish political and cultural rights in Turkey. It has been clashing with Turkish forces inside and outside Turkey since 1984.
Turkey has conducted airstrikes and ground operations against the PKK within Iraq’s borders for years, accusing the federal Iraqi government and Kurdistan Regional Government of failing to take measures against the group.
The Iraqi foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad twice, but this has failed to de-escalate the tensions or halt Turkey’s offensive.
According to intelligence information obtained by Rudaw, from the eighties to mid-June 2020, Turkey established military bases in 24 strategic locations in the areas of Kani Masi, Deralok and Shiladze.
