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Kurdistan
Unidentified drone targets a vehicle on the Dukan-Khalakan road in Sulaimani province on August 9, 2023. Photo: Submitted
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An unidentified drone on Wednesday targeted a vehicle on Sulaimani province’s Dukan-Khalakan road. At least two people were injured in the attack, according to a local official.
Sirwan Lala Sarhad, mayor of Dukan town, told Rudaw on Wednesday that a Jeep Laredo vehicle was hit by an unidentified drone on the Dukan-Khalan road which is commonly used by civilian vehicles. At least two people, one from Halabja and one from Syria, were injured in the attack, according to the mayor.
Rudaw has learnt that the injured were hospitalized in Dukan but later transferred to Sulaimani city due to the severity of the wounds sustained.
There has been no claim of responsibility.
Turkey often targets areas in Sulaimani province on the grounds of attacking the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters.
The areas targeted on Wednesday are not common for PKK-Turkey clashes.
A source from the local police, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Rudaw that the attack was definitely carried out by a drone because it has caused a crater.
Rojnews, a media outlet affiliated to the PKK, reported that the car was hit by a Turkish drone.
Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD), which often reports Turkish attacks in the Kurdistan Region, said one PKK fighter was killed and two others were injured in the "Turkish drone attack" on the road. It added that another Turkish drone hit a vehicle in Sulaimani province's Mawat district about two hours earlier, killing a PKK intelligence officer and injuring two others.
CTD is unofficially linked to the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) - which has had rocky relations with the PKK for decades. There have been clashes between KDP-affiliated Peshmerga forces and PKK fighters in bordering areas in recent years over land control.
Another similar drone attack against a vehicle in Sulaimani province's Aghjalar subdistrict on Sunday was blamed on Turkey.
A flight ban on Sulaimani International Airport by Turkey has been in place since April 3. The Turkish foreign ministry has said that the ban, which is to remain in effect until January, is related to the alleged “intensification” of PKK activity in Sulaimani.
Updated at 8:00 pm
Additional reporting by Arkan Ali
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