Four dead in Turkish airstrike in Sulaimani: local mayor

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region  — Four people have been killed in a Turkish airstrike on a vehicle in Sulaimani’s Halsho subdistrict, local mayor Bakr Waisy told Rudaw.

The strike took place at 1:30pm between the villages of Kani Lan and Dega, according to Waisy. The victims' identities are currently unknown.  

The area is 120 kilometres from the Turkish border and 8 kilometres from the Iranian border.

Video submitted to Rudaw by local residents show firefighters trying to control a blaze at the scene.

It comes amid ongoing Turkish operations in Duhok province targeting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish group fighting for more rights for Kurds in Turkey. 

Turkey's defence ministry said on Sunday that it "neutralized" five members of the PKK in northern Iraq as part of the ongoing operations in the Kurdistan Region, but did not provide further details.

Turkey regularly conducts operations against the PKK, which it views as a terrorist organisation, both at home and in the Kurdistan Region. 

Ankara conducted airstrikes near Makhmour refugee camp in Erbil province twice earlier this month, claiming to have killed two senior PKK members in separate attacks. 

Updated at 3:19pm