Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
Kurdistan
A Turkish missile narrowly missed a vehicle allegedly carrying three members of the PKK, according to residents who spoke to Rudaw, July 18, 2019. Photo: Rudaw TV
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Five civilians, including two children, were injured on Thursday in the village of Spindar when a Turkish airstrike targeted a vehicle containing three suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members, according to residents.
Spindar, in the Chamanke sub-district of Amedi, is 40 kilometers northeast of Duhok city. The Turkish military did not confirm the strike, but claimed to have carried similar attacks on the Hakurk region of Erbil.
Rudaw Kurdish has not been able to establish the identity of those injured or their condition.
According to Spindar residents, a Turkish missile struck the village at around 4.30 p.m. local time. It narrowly missed the PKK members’ car, leaving them lightly injured.
Three civilians in a nearby shop were caught in the blast, as were two children in a neighboring house.
Residents who spoke to Rudaw Kurdish said the PKK members were chased out of the village by an armed local, who feared the Turkish jet would launch a second strike if they remained.
“We tell both Turkey and the PKK not to make our village a battleground,” an unnamed witness told Rudaw Kurdish.
“Those injured were in the village, going about their business and work.”
“Our government keeps asking us to repopulate the villages. How can we do this if shells rain down on us on daily basis?” he asked.
“There hasn’t been such an incident before. I challenge the Turks and others to find one PKK position in our area.”
The intensity of the airstrike shattered the windows of several homes in the villages.
Hezhar Korshid showed Rudaw’s correspondent around his home, where broken glass littered the floor.
“I was sitting here, drinking tea. A big sound came, and the glass fell on us, my family. It hit their arms, and we all hurried out,” Khorshid said.
“None of the windows of the houses around here have been left intact,” he added.
Four cars were also damaged, including the vehicle driven by suspected PKK members. Powerlines connecting Spindar to other villages in Chamanke were also damaged.
Following the incident, several families have moved their children to safety in Duhok city.
“Our children are afraid. The road is also cut. We have no other option but to leave,” Bedel Spindari told Rudaw Kurdish.
“My family is afraid. We have to leave. I was very close when the incident occurred,” his wife added.
The strike came a day after a Turkish diplomat was shot dead in an Erbil restaurant. The PKK has denied responsibility for the shooting, which Kurdish security forces are treating as a “premeditated terrorist attack”.
The Turkish military claimed on Friday to have targeted the PKK’s camp on Qarachogh Mountain in Makhmour.
It also claimed to have killed six PKK fighters in bombings in Metina and Gara in the Hakurk region.
Rojnews, media close to the PKK, claimed that two residents of the camp were injured in the bombing.
Spindar, in the Chamanke sub-district of Amedi, is 40 kilometers northeast of Duhok city. The Turkish military did not confirm the strike, but claimed to have carried similar attacks on the Hakurk region of Erbil.
Rudaw Kurdish has not been able to establish the identity of those injured or their condition.
According to Spindar residents, a Turkish missile struck the village at around 4.30 p.m. local time. It narrowly missed the PKK members’ car, leaving them lightly injured.
Three civilians in a nearby shop were caught in the blast, as were two children in a neighboring house.
Residents who spoke to Rudaw Kurdish said the PKK members were chased out of the village by an armed local, who feared the Turkish jet would launch a second strike if they remained.
Although the PKK does not have a presence inside the village, locals told Rudaw the group regularly imposes taxes on them.
“We tell both Turkey and the PKK not to make our village a battleground,” an unnamed witness told Rudaw Kurdish.
“Those injured were in the village, going about their business and work.”
“Our government keeps asking us to repopulate the villages. How can we do this if shells rain down on us on daily basis?” he asked.
“There hasn’t been such an incident before. I challenge the Turks and others to find one PKK position in our area.”
The intensity of the airstrike shattered the windows of several homes in the villages.
Hezhar Korshid showed Rudaw’s correspondent around his home, where broken glass littered the floor.
“I was sitting here, drinking tea. A big sound came, and the glass fell on us, my family. It hit their arms, and we all hurried out,” Khorshid said.
“None of the windows of the houses around here have been left intact,” he added.
Four cars were also damaged, including the vehicle driven by suspected PKK members. Powerlines connecting Spindar to other villages in Chamanke were also damaged.
Following the incident, several families have moved their children to safety in Duhok city.
“Our children are afraid. The road is also cut. We have no other option but to leave,” Bedel Spindari told Rudaw Kurdish.
“My family is afraid. We have to leave. I was very close when the incident occurred,” his wife added.
The strike came a day after a Turkish diplomat was shot dead in an Erbil restaurant. The PKK has denied responsibility for the shooting, which Kurdish security forces are treating as a “premeditated terrorist attack”.
The Turkish military claimed on Friday to have targeted the PKK’s camp on Qarachogh Mountain in Makhmour.
It also claimed to have killed six PKK fighters in bombings in Metina and Gara in the Hakurk region.
A resident of the Martyr Cudi refugee camp, which shelters PKK fighters and refugees from Turkey, confirmed to Rudaw that Turkish jets struck areas around the camp at around 12:20 a.m. on Friday.
Rojnews, media close to the PKK, claimed that two residents of the camp were injured in the bombing.
"Turkish airplanes violated Iraq's airspace yesterday midnight and carried out two airstrikes, near an IDP [sic] [refugee] camp by Makhmour Mountains east of Mosul city, injuring five," Iraq's Security Media Cell confirmed in a statement on Friday.
On March 21, Turkish airstrikes killed five senior PKK officials, including the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) umbrella group Serhat Varto. PKK-affiliated media confirmed their deaths on Wednesday.
Turkey launched Operation Claw in late May, striking PKK positions near the Iraq-Turkey border. The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced Monday it had “neutralized” 174 guerrilla fighters since the operation began.
The second phase of Operation Claw commenced on July 12 “with our Commando Brigades in the north of Iraq to destroy caves and shelters used by a terror organization”, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said.
Turkey’s airstrikes, which regularly cause civilian casualties, and the presence of PKK fighters have angered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government. Both have called on armed groups to stop using their territory to attacks neighboring countries and urged Turkish restraint.
Some 4,472 people have been killed since the peace process fell apart on July 20, 2015, according to the most recent figures from the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment