Turkish forces in Duhok’s Bamarne shoot down 2 drones

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish forces stationed in the Bamarne subdistrict of the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province shot down two drones early Friday, the town’s mayor confirmed to Kurdistan 24. 

There have been no causalities, the mayor added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack. 

The incident occurred two days after an artillery bombardment on Zakho killed nine Iraqi tourists and injured more than 20. Iraq blames Turkey for the attack. Turkey denies targeting civilians. 

Bamarne base hosts Turkish forces and was previously targeted by rockets. Turkey’s Zilkan base in Iraq’s neighboring Nineveh province has also been attacked numerous times by rockets and, more recently, explosive-laden drones. 

Wednesday’s artillery attack sparked fury among Iraqis, who organized protests in several Iraqi provinces and the capital Baghdad. 

Turkish Ambassador Ali Riza Guney was summoned on Thursday by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed a “strongly worded note” over the attack. Iraq is also filing a complaint at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), according to the ministry’s spokesperson Ahmed Al-Sahaf. 

Turkey launched its latest cross-border air-and-ground operation, codenamed Claw-Lock, against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region in April. 

Turkey also carries out drone strikes targeting suspected PKK members across the region.