Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi (left) met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) in Ankara on December 17, 2020. Photo: handout/Iraqi PM office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s president, in a phone call with the Iraqi prime minister on Saturday, called for greater cooperation between their nations in combatting terror and denied bombing a medical clinic in recent airstrikes on the Shingal region.
On Tuesday, Turkey carried out four airstrikes on the village of Sikeniye in the Shingal area, hitting a medical clinic associated with the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS), a local force Turkey considers an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi that “the target that was hit was not a hospital or healthcare center as the terrorist organization claimed but one of the organization’s hide-outs.”
A local administration said four health care workers and four YBS fighters were killed in the airstrikes.
In another airstrike a day earlier, Turkey killed a YBS commander and a fighter. The commander had been on his way to meet with Kadhimi who was visiting Shingal at the time, according to the Shingal Democratic Autonomous Assembly.
Erdogan told Kadhimi he was happy with Turkey-Iraq relations “in the fields of trade, military and intelligence, and said that the cooperation in the fight against terror must be enhanced as well.”
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has its headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains and Ankara frequently launches military campaigns across the border, targeting alleged PKK positions. Erdogan told Kadhimi that the PKK has a presence in Makhmour, a refugee camp some 60 kilometres southwest of Erbil, and Shingal in northern Iraq, both areas under federal control.
There is no immediate statement from Kadhimi’s office on his phone call with Erdogan.
In a meeting with his security council on Wednesday, Kadhimi condemned “unilateral military actions” on Shingal, but did not mention Turkey.
On Tuesday, Turkey carried out four airstrikes on the village of Sikeniye in the Shingal area, hitting a medical clinic associated with the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS), a local force Turkey considers an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi that “the target that was hit was not a hospital or healthcare center as the terrorist organization claimed but one of the organization’s hide-outs.”
A local administration said four health care workers and four YBS fighters were killed in the airstrikes.
In another airstrike a day earlier, Turkey killed a YBS commander and a fighter. The commander had been on his way to meet with Kadhimi who was visiting Shingal at the time, according to the Shingal Democratic Autonomous Assembly.
Erdogan told Kadhimi he was happy with Turkey-Iraq relations “in the fields of trade, military and intelligence, and said that the cooperation in the fight against terror must be enhanced as well.”
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has its headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains and Ankara frequently launches military campaigns across the border, targeting alleged PKK positions. Erdogan told Kadhimi that the PKK has a presence in Makhmour, a refugee camp some 60 kilometres southwest of Erbil, and Shingal in northern Iraq, both areas under federal control.
There is no immediate statement from Kadhimi’s office on his phone call with Erdogan.
In a meeting with his security council on Wednesday, Kadhimi condemned “unilateral military actions” on Shingal, but did not mention Turkey.
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