Four civilians killed in Turkish airstrikes on Qandil region
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Four civilians were killed in Turkish airstrikes on Thursday at the foot of the Qandil Mountains just a day after Turkish raids killed a civilian in Bradost, 70 km northeast of Erbil, locals and officials have confirmed.
A local of Sangasar district told Rudaw at least three members of the same family were killed in an airstrike near the village of Kurtak at the foot of the Qandil Mountains.
The bodies have been moved to a local hospital, the local said.
Multiple social media users in the area have named three of the victims as Abdullah Aly Mina and his two children Kurdistan Abdullah Aly Mina and Haryad Abdullah Aly Mina. A fourth victim has been named as Aly Mina.
Another local in Sangasar claimed four civilians died and five more have been injured in Turkish strikes.
Hiwa Qarani, head of Raparin Administration that includes Ranya, told Rudaw four individuals were killed and five injured. The four were burnt alive in their car, he added.
Barzani Ibrahem Ahmed, a local, posted a photograph appearing to show the destroyed vehicle.
“This evening Turkish jets struck just ten meters from us, but the missile hit the car in front of me. Some [flying] parts of the car hit my car, but me, my son, and two of my friends got out safely thanks to God,” Ahmed said in a Facebook post.
Responding to comments, he confirmed four people were killed.
In a separate incident, a local of Sangasar told Rudaw a Turkish F-16 and a drone bombed the Sidakan area in Bradost shortly after 4pm local time.
He provided Rudaw English with a photograph which appears to show four columns of smoke, indicating there had been four airstrikes in the area.
On Wednesday, Turkish jets struck a car carrying two men, one of which was killed and another, reportedly his brother, was injured.
There has been an uptick in Turkish airstrikes in the border areas of the Kurdistan Region since Ankara launched “Operation Claw” against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the area.
The PKK is a Kurdish armed group headquartered in the Qandil Mountains. It has been fighting an on and off insurgency against Turkey for greater Kurdish cultural and political rights in Turkey since the 1980s.
Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire. Baghdad and Erbil have both called on Turkey to halt its attacks, while simultaneously demanding the PKK leave their territories.
A local of Sangasar district told Rudaw at least three members of the same family were killed in an airstrike near the village of Kurtak at the foot of the Qandil Mountains.
The bodies have been moved to a local hospital, the local said.
Multiple social media users in the area have named three of the victims as Abdullah Aly Mina and his two children Kurdistan Abdullah Aly Mina and Haryad Abdullah Aly Mina. A fourth victim has been named as Aly Mina.
Another local in Sangasar claimed four civilians died and five more have been injured in Turkish strikes.
Hiwa Qarani, head of Raparin Administration that includes Ranya, told Rudaw four individuals were killed and five injured. The four were burnt alive in their car, he added.
Barzani Ibrahem Ahmed, a local, posted a photograph appearing to show the destroyed vehicle.
“This evening Turkish jets struck just ten meters from us, but the missile hit the car in front of me. Some [flying] parts of the car hit my car, but me, my son, and two of my friends got out safely thanks to God,” Ahmed said in a Facebook post.
Responding to comments, he confirmed four people were killed.
In a separate incident, a local of Sangasar told Rudaw a Turkish F-16 and a drone bombed the Sidakan area in Bradost shortly after 4pm local time.
He provided Rudaw English with a photograph which appears to show four columns of smoke, indicating there had been four airstrikes in the area.
Turkey's defense ministry is yet to comment on the attacks.
On Wednesday, Turkish jets struck a car carrying two men, one of which was killed and another, reportedly his brother, was injured.
There has been an uptick in Turkish airstrikes in the border areas of the Kurdistan Region since Ankara launched “Operation Claw” against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the area.
The PKK is a Kurdish armed group headquartered in the Qandil Mountains. It has been fighting an on and off insurgency against Turkey for greater Kurdish cultural and political rights in Turkey since the 1980s.
Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire. Baghdad and Erbil have both called on Turkey to halt its attacks, while simultaneously demanding the PKK leave their territories.
There was a short-lived peace process between Turkey and the PKK which ended in failure on July 20, 2015. Since then, at least 4,397 people, including security forces, PKK fighters, and civilians have been killed, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).