Three members of the Sulaimani-based Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) were killed and three others were injured when a drone hit Arbat airport on Monday, according to the group. It did not explicitly point the finger at any parties but vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Iraqi authorities blamed Turkey for the incident, claiming that the drone entered Iraq from the neighboring country.
Turkey did not claim responsibility for the attack, but said in a statement that members of the Syria-based People’s Protection Units (YPG) were receiving training at the airport when the strike occurred which “confirmed once again the accuracy of the measures we have taken regarding Sulaimani.”
The need to preserve Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was emphasized during the meeting between Zidan and Talabani, but neither statement contained any mention of Turkey.
“It is the duty of all of us to confront violations and trespassing of the country's borders. The stability of our territory and country cannot be endangered and a limit must be put on these attacks," a statement from Talabani’s office cited the PUK leader as saying during the meeting.
Turkey has intensified its attacks against the alleged position of the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, especially in Sulaimani province. Some drone attacks caused civilian deaths.
A flight ban on Sulaimani International Airport by Turkey has been in place since April 3. The Turkish foreign ministry has said that the ban, which is to remain in effect until January, is related to the alleged “intensification” of PKK activity in Sulaimani.
