Villager killed by Turkish airstrikes in Duhok province: local official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish airstrikes killed a villager in Duhok’s Kani Masi subdistrict on Wednesday afternoon, according to a local official. 

Khalid Abdulrahman, 60, was killed while trying to rescue his grazing livestock after several Turkish airstrike hit the village of Kani Mazin, according to Kani Masi Mayor Sarbast Akrey.

“At 1:45pm a drone came and fired two rockets and then a jet came and fired three others. When the jet fired the sixth rocket it hit the vicinity of the village," Akrey told Rudaw English.

"The teacher tried to rescue the livestock which were near a fire caused by the bombardment but he was killed," he added.

The outskirts of the village were set alight by the airstrikes, and villagers have failed to extinguish the blaze, according to the mayor.

Abdulrahman was also the principal of the village school. 

Turkey launched air and ground operations against alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases within the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories in mid-June. At least eight civilians have been killed during the operations.

The PKK, an armed Kurdish group fighting for greater cultural and political rights in Turkey, is headquartered in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil mountains. 

Airstrikes also hit Dinarta subdistrict earlier in the day, according to mayor Shaaban Khalil. 

"At 11am and 12pm, the Turkish planes twice bombed the village of Kavilka … Since the villages are remote and there are no telephone lines there, we do not know of any damages yet."

Dinarta is also located in Duhok province. 

 Updated 7.06pm