Turkish drone strike kills PKK commander, says Kurdish CT

As a result of the attack, a PKK commander was killed and another militant was wounded.

Kurdistan 24 2023/08/06 12:38

A burnt-out vehicle is being removed from the site of a previous Turkish drone attack, June 17, 2022 (Photo: Harem Jaff/Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish drone strike killed a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) commander and wounded another militant in the Kurdistan Region’s Chamchamal district on early Sunday, the Kurdistan Region's Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) said.

The drone targeted a vehicle carrying the PKK militants in a village near Aghjalar subdistrict at 9:30 am (local time), the CTD said in a statement.

As a result of the attack, a PKK commander was killed and another militant wounded, the press release added, without elaborating further on the identities of those killed.

Turkey last year targeted another vehicle carrying alleged PKK militants in the area, killing all five passengers.

The PKK and Ankara have been engaged in a bloody military conflict since the mid-1980s, resulting in the deaths of about 55,000 people.

Bolstered by its advanced drone industry, Turkey has ramped up its drone strikes in recent years, particularly in the urban centers of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, to target suspected PKK positions.

Similar strikes in the past have also been blamed on Turkey, which have resulted in casualties, including senior PKK militants.

Kurdistan Region officials regularly call on Baghdad, officially in charge of border security affairs, to prevent the insurgents and foreign militaries from engaging in hostilities within its territory. Officials have voiced concerns about increased militia forces presence in the area.

Much of the conflict has been fought in the border areas of the Kurdistan Region, which has endangered the civilian population.