Turkish air raids destroy clinic in Kurdistan Region

DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – Turkish airstrikes on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in the Kurdistan Region destroyed a health clinic in Duhok province Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Turkish warplanes have been launched a string of air raids on PKK sites in the Qandil Mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan since Friday. Thursday’s attack struck a clinic in the Amediye district of Duhok. 

The warplanes thrice struck the Geli Baze region in Amediye on Thursday, said Bakhtiyar Kadir, Rudaw’s reporter in the region.The destroyed clinic had been serving several villages, including Shinaw and Hiraspi. 

The latest air raids targeted areas on the outskirts of the Qandil Mountain, including Rezge and Maredu. These are the main hideouts of the PKK.

At around 3 pm local time on Thursday, two Turkish fighters flew  reconnaissance flights over the Qandil Mountains, Enze, Lejwe and villages in the Bokriskan area.

Turkey says its attacks are “in retaliation” for the killings of two Turkish police officers last week, for which the PKK claimed responsibility.

Turkey and the PKK began a peace accord in 2013 to end a three-decade conflict that had claimed 40,000 lives. That accord is in tatters following the latest Turkish raids.