Kurdish woman killed in crossfire in Kirkuk, PUK accuses Iraqi counter-terrorism forces
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi counter-terrorism forces over the weekend refuted claims they had accidentally killed a Kurdish woman caught in the crossfire of a “terrorist” attack in northern Kirkuk.
On Wednesday, a Kurdish woman was killed and three more civilians were wounded in a firefight in response to a grenade attack on the counter-terrorism units’ headquarters in the Shuraw district located north of Kirkuk city.
In the aftermath of the incident, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official said civilian casualties were a result of Iraqi counter-terrorism forces negligence, who responded to the attack with extreme force.
Kirkuki Member of Parliament in Baghdad for the PUK, Rebwar Taha, told reporters the victims were killed and injured “due to indiscriminate and unjustified gunfire by some members of the counter-terrorism forces.”
The vehicle carrying “terrorists” threw a grenade at a patrol guarding a military headquarter on the Kirkuk – Erbil road, wounding three guards, according to Major General Maan al-Saadi, the counter-terrorism Commander in charge of Kirkuk security.
In a statement issued Friday, al-Saadi mentioned the attack happened as a vehicle carrying a Kurdish family was also traveling in the same lane. The Iraqi officer maintained that the “terrorist” group was responsible for killing the Kurdish woman and injuring the others after opening fire on the car.
Taha, however, noted this was the second such incident in Kirkuk, describing the performance and actions of Iraqi counter-terrorism forces stationed in the city as “unacceptable.”
Over the past week, the province of Kirkuk has witnessed 16 different incidents ranging from bombings to shootings and other armed attacks.
Instability in Kirkuk has considerably risen over the past few months, namely after Iraqi forces and the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militias took over the city from Peshmerga in a military operation on Oct. 16, 2017.
Recently, Commander of the Peshmerga forces, Kamal Kirkuki, warned the security situation in Kirkuk has been “seriously deteriorating,” with the city witnessing multiple “security failures.”
Editing by Nadia Riva