Landmine laid by PKK kills Peshmerga, wounds another in Kurdistan Region: Source

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion caused by a landmine set by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed a Peshmerga fighter and wounded another in a rural area northeast of the Kurdistan Region's capital of Erbil, according to local sources.

The incident occured in the village of Sinka, located between the Gobi Hajer and Birkum in Sidakan district.

According to the sources, the mine detonated as the Peshmerga were driving a pickup truck through the area. The wounded soldier, who sustained serious injuries, was transferred to a nearby medical facility for treatment. No additional details were available.

The PKK, headquartered in the Zagros Mountains within the autonomous Kurdistan Region, has been fighting a decades-long conflict against Ankara over Kurdish rights in Turkey that has led to tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. Rural residents living in areas where they operate and the local environment continue to suffer from ongoing clashes, including multiple civilian fatalities and other casualties.

Although the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Iraqi government in Baghdad have repeatedly asked the PKK and the Turkish government to take their fight elsewhere, clashes continue.

In recent months, tensions between the KRG and the PKK have reached new levels to the point of an actual armed conflict.

The PKK previously attacked Peshmerga forces in the Chamanki district of Duhok, which met with harsh international critisism.

Read More: New PKK attack injures 2 policemen in Kurdistan Region's Duhok: Source

The most prominent attack occurred in November when two members of Duhok's Oil and Gas Police were wounded, one of them dying the following day.

Editing by John J. Catherine