Turkish airstrike kills 2 civilians in Duhok province: local officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A father and son were killed in a Turkish airstrike in Duhok province on Saturday morning, a family member of the deceased has told Rudaw. 

Officials said two were killed when the Turkish air force struck suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in the Deralok sub-district of Amedi, close to the border with Turkey. The attack took place at 09:30 am, according to Rudaw reporter Nasir Ali. 

The father - who Ali reported was a retired Peshmerga - was out farming ancestral land with his son "to make ends meet for their families" in times of economic difficulty, relative Khalil Nerway told Rudaw.

"The bodies have not yet been returned as it's difficult to access the site of the bombing," Nerway said. 

Another person was injured in the bombing, he added.

"We have not yet seen the wounded, but we are told that his health is stable."

Turkey's defense ministry claimed the strike killed PKK fighters in the area, not civilians.

Air forces “neutralized two members of the PKK terrorist organization in the Avasin region of northern Iraq,” the ministry said in a Saturday morning statement, adding that the alleged PKK fighters were “identified by means of “reconnaissance and surveillance” - terms often used in reference to drone operations.

Turkish authorities use the word “neutralized” to imply targets were killed or captured.

Mohammed Salim Nerweyi, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Deralok, also told Rudaw that the deceased were civilians.

The PKK is a Kurdish armed group that has fought for Kurdish cultural and political rights in Turkey for decades. The group is seen as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies. 

Turkey routinely launches land and air operations against the group at home, in the Kurdistan Region, and in Iraq’s disputed territories of Shingal and Makhmour.

Both the PKK and Turkish forces have had military bases in Duhok province for decades. 

Locals in Amedi have been caught in the middle of the conflict, with last week's strike on Amedi's Kani Masi leaving villagers "terrified."

Updated 10:35 pm