Turkish airstrikes target village in Sulaimani province, cause casualty

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish warplanes conducted airstrikes three times, targeting a village in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province in the border areas with Iran on Tuesday, injuring one person, according to sources in the area.

The airstrikes targeted the village of Shene in Qaladize district, located in northeastern Sulaimani province, Bakir Waysi, the head of the Halsho sub-district, told Kurdistan 24.

“The airstrikes targeted the village and its peripheries,” Waysi noted, adding that the airplanes are still flying over the area.

The civilian and material damages are unknown “because we are unable to reach the village yet,” the mayor said, highlighting the fear and frustration among villagers. 

An informed source in the area later told Kurdistan 24 that a 25-year-old woman from Shene village was wounded as a result of the airstrikes. She has been transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment, the source added.

Recently, the main focus of Turkish airstrikes is concentrated more on the areas that are bordered by Turkey rather than Iran.

However, in late June 2020, a Turkish airstrike targeting a resort in Sulaimani province caused one death and five civilian injuries.

In recent years, Turkey has carried out military operations against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters based in the Kurdistan Region with continued regularity, with troops sometimes crossing into the region up to 20 kilometers deep to target the guerilla group.

In its latest land and air operations against the PKK militants, Turkey had intensively targeted the border towns and areas, causing displacements and civilian casualties.

The PKK is engaged in a decades-long insurgency against Turkey over Kurdish rights and self-rule that has resulted in the death of over 40,000 people on both sides. The group is headquartered in the Kurdistan Region’s Zagros Mountains, along the Turkish and Iranian borders.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany