Turkish jets pound suspected PKK positions in Duhok
DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – Turkish fighter jets bombed suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions on Kurazhar Mountain near the town of Shiladze, Duhok province early on Wednesday, a local official confirmed. There are currently no reports of casualties.
“This is the second time Turkish planes have bombed Kurazhar Mountain this week,” Warshin Salman, a local councilor, told Rudaw.
The sound of jets and explosions has spread fear and panic among villagers, he said.
“There was shelling and bombing in the past, but this has recently turned into a weekly occurrence. They bomb these places once or twice a week,” Salman added.
There are 348 villages in the area surrounding the town of Amedi, Duhok province. Of these, 198 have stood empty for the past 20 years after Turkish strikes forced residents to evacuate.
Amedi and its surrounding villages are today home to around 118,000 people.
Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes and ground operations against alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region.
Turkey launched ‘Operation Claw’ targeting PKK positions in northern Erbil on Monday.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has been at war with the Turkish state since the 1980s.
The guerrilla group is headquartered in the mountains of Qandil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq near the border with Turkey and Iran.
At least 4,356 people have been killed since July 20, 2015, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).
“This is the second time Turkish planes have bombed Kurazhar Mountain this week,” Warshin Salman, a local councilor, told Rudaw.
The sound of jets and explosions has spread fear and panic among villagers, he said.
“There was shelling and bombing in the past, but this has recently turned into a weekly occurrence. They bomb these places once or twice a week,” Salman added.
There are 348 villages in the area surrounding the town of Amedi, Duhok province. Of these, 198 have stood empty for the past 20 years after Turkish strikes forced residents to evacuate.
Amedi and its surrounding villages are today home to around 118,000 people.
Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes and ground operations against alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region.
Turkey launched ‘Operation Claw’ targeting PKK positions in northern Erbil on Monday.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has been at war with the Turkish state since the 1980s.
The guerrilla group is headquartered in the mountains of Qandil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq near the border with Turkey and Iran.
At least 4,356 people have been killed since July 20, 2015, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).