Turkish drone strike kills one in Erbil province, says anti-terror group

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish drone strike on a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) vehicle on early Tuesday killed a person and wounded another one in Erbil province, the Kurdistan Region’s counter-terrorism group confirmed.

The strike targeted a Toyota SUV in the village of Chinarok at 10:50 a.m. (Erbil time) in Koya district eastern Erbil province, where four passengers were inside the car during the aerial attack, Kurdistan 24 has learned.

The Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) announced that the vehicle belonged to the PKK, which Turkey regularly targets through drone attacks.

At least one person was killed while another one was wounded, according to the statement.

Footage seen by Kurdistan 24 has shown the moment people rushed to help what appeared to be the driver, sitting on the ground struggling to move.

The strike is the latest of its kind against the Kurdish militant group by Turkey. Recently, the NATO member had struck numerous vehicles and targets inside the Kurdistan Region, which had resulted in numerous causalities.

Ankara has intensified attacks against the group in both Iraq and Syria after two PKK militants attacked a Turkish internal security organization on October 3.

In northeastern Syria, the strikes had focused on energy and power infrastructure in a bid to weaken the ruling Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers as the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

In addition to drone strikes, which have witnessed an increase due to the country’s advanced drone-making industry, Ankara has launched a number of ground operations against militants in the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas since 2021.

Having been engaged in an armed conflict since the mid-1980s, tens of thousands have been killed from both sides.