Politics

Turkish air raid kills two civilians in Kurdistan’s Duhok: Source

Pictures reportedly taken at the scene of the killings shortly after the attack showed grieving family members and relatives of one of the victims.

Khrush Najari 2020/07/26 18:30

middle east Kurdistan PKK Turkey

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish airstrike in rural parts of the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province killed at least two civilians, a security source told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday.

The raid struck and destroyed two vehicles, killing all occupants, the source said of the incident, which occurred near Hasinpirka village, located in Bamarni subdistrict, Amedi district, Duhok province.

Initial reports claimed that the strikes hit members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey purports to be targeting in its military operations inside the Kurdistan Region.

The mother of one of the victims of the latest Turkish airstrikes in rural parts of Duhok province on July 26, 2020. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Pictures that were taken at the scene of the killings shortly after the attack showed grieving family members and relatives of one of the victims, Dilovan Shahin, who was from the nearby Gulle village, about 6 kilometers southeast of the airstrike.

A second person’s body could not be identified, the source added. It was immediately unclear if more passengers were aboard the two vehicles.

In its latest cross-border campaign, the so-called Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle operations, Turkish forces have killed several civilians, amid ongoing clashes between Ankara’s military and the PKK—which is headquartered in the region’s Qandil mountains.

Along with the civilian casualties—which Turkish officials refuse to acknowledge—, residents of dozens of villages in the Kurdistan Region and near the Turkish border have been wholly vacated due to the ongoing Turkey-PKK conflict.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has condemned the attacks and demanded that both Turkey and PKK withdraw from the autonomous region and take their fight elsewhere.