ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey has intensified attacks against the fighters of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an opposition group to Tehran, killing seven of its fighters in two separate attacks in recent days, the group said in a statement.
“In the past days… Turkey targeted twice from the air the villages in Mawat town in Sharbazher region using drones and warplanes,” the statement reads. The first attack occurred on Tuesday, with no casualties, says the statement
“On 7th of this month, the Turkish invading state’s warplanes once again bombarded near Mount Blosa in Sharbazher, targeting one of our units who were on duty … As a result, seven of our comrades as well as two young Wlatparez (Iraqi Kurdish supporters) members were martyred,” it added, not specifying how the supporters were affiliated with the group.
Aircraft bombed Sulaimani province’s Sharbazher district village of Galala on Tuesday, burning through a large swathe of farmland, a local official has said.
Separate airstrikes on Friday struck Qamish village near the town of Mawat.
Turkey launched its current offensive in the Kurdistan Region on June 15, with the stated aim of removing PKK fighters from the border areas. Operations have focused on areas in Duhok province’s Zakho region where villagers living in the mountains have borne the brunt of Turkey's bombing.
Seven confirmed civilians have been killed in the operations and many villages have been abandoned.
Both the PKK and PJAK use the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a safe haven from which to launch attacks on Turkish and Iranian security forces. PJAK is considered the Iranian wing of the PKK, but PJAK claims it is merely linked by shared ideology.
The PKK, seeking greater cultural and political rights for Kurds in Turkey, has been in conflict with the Ankara government for decades. At least 5,000 people have been killed in clashes and attacks since peace efforts failed in July 2015, according to the International Crisis Group. The PKK has its headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil mountains.
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