Top PKK commander, militants killed in Turkish drone attack in Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish drone attack killed a top Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) commander and wounded two others in northern Erbil province on Thursday, the Kurdistan Region’s counterterrorism directorate announced.

The drone strike targeted a vehicle that was carrying a top PKK commander with two other militants on the Sinene road in Sidakan district, a statement from the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) read.

It did not elaborate further on the identities of those killed in the airstrike.

The directorate reported several other airstrikes by the Turkish forces against PKK targets in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province in the past two weeks, resulting in a number of causalities.

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.