ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Washington is investigating the Friday attack on a convoy which included American military personnel near Sulaimani airport, a spokesperson for the US Department of State said late Monday, calling on countries to respect Iraq’s territorial sovereignty.
A drone attack targeted a convoy that included Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Commander Mazloum Abdi in the vicinity of Sulaimani International Airport on Friday. The US State Department revealed at the time that its military personnel were in the convoy without providing more information. The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials as saying three American military personnel were in the convoy, confirming Abdi was onboard too.
US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told Rudaw during a press briefing late Monday that the investigation on the incident is ongoing.
“Our department of defence is investigating the attack on the convoy on April 7th. That convoy included US military personnel. We can confirm that there were no casualties and we of course forcefully oppose any action that threatens the safety and security of US personnel,” said Patel.
He added that the fight to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) remains his country’s priority.
“Any action in Iraq should respect Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Patel.
Iraq has called on the Turkish government to apologise for the attack.
The US leads the global coalition against ISIS and has provided military and logistic support as well as financial aid to Kurdish forces in the Kurdistan Region and northeast Syria (Rojava). The SDF is the main ally of the coalition in Rojava.
The drone strike hit near the perimeter of the Sulaimani’s airport and was first reported by local authorities as an explosion with no mention of a cause or persons involved. The blast sparked a fire that was extinguished and an investigation is underway, said the security of the airport.
Turkey and Iran often target Kurdistan Region’s bordering areas on the grounds of fighting Kurdish rebels.
Ankara is blamed for Friday’s attack but the country has not commented on the incident yet. However, an unnamed source from Turkey’s defence ministry has told the AFP that they did not carry out the attack.
Turkey accuses the SDF’s backbone, People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being the Syrian wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara.
The strike comes a few days after Turkey imposed a three-month flight ban on Sulaimani’s airport because of what Turkey’s foreign ministry dubbed “infiltration” by the PKK.
The ban is believed to be related to a helicopter crash in Duhok province on March 15, killing nine anti-terrorism forces affiliated with SDF, including a close relative of Abdi, who were travelling to Sulaimani.
Commenting on the helicopter crash in Duhok, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a pro-government broadcaster on Monday that the PKK has dominated Sulaimani, claiming that the crashed helicopters were purchased by the PUK from France.
He also blamed the US for facilitating the SDF flights between Rojava and Sulaimani.
“The control of the airspace is in the hands of the US. Therefore, the US is aware of these flights. This is the gist of the event,” he noted.
Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson, has warned that “the PKK has a very serious establishment in Sulaimani” and Ankara will not disregard this.
Washington-based reporter Diyar Kurda contributed to this article.
