VIDEO: Turkish airstrikes kill three in Duhok province

ZEWE, Kurdistan Region — The bodies of three men killed in a Turkish airstrike in Duhok province's Amedi district were found on Saturday after being missing for more than a week.

Relatives Muhsin Speri, 64, Hassan Sadiq, 56, and Safar Sini, 54, lost contact with their families after going camping on Mount Matin.

“When he didn’t call after four days, we knew something was wrong… A few days ago we got news that Turkey had bombed the mountain,” Muhsin’s brother, Sleman Speri, told Rudaw English on Saturday. With still no phone call from Muhsin, the family set out to search for the missing men. 

“When we found the bodies, all three were badly mutilated. It was very, very bad,” Arsalan Mohammed, another relative, told Rudaw on Saturday.

Turkish warplanes bombed Duhok province’s Gara Mountain, west of Deraluk, last week. The country’s defence ministry claimed on Saturday to have “neutralized” five members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in airstrikes on the same region. 

Turkish forces have pursued the PKK within the Kurdistan Region’s borders for years. Civilians have been caught in the crosshairs of the attacks, sometimes being killed in attacks. 

Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed