Unidentified drone strike targets PKK unit in Erbil's Balisan Valley: CTG

Turkey has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack. 
The burnt-out vehicle is being removed from the site of the attack, June 17, 2022 (Photo: Harem Jaff/Kurdistan 24)
The burnt-out vehicle is being removed from the site of the attack, June 17, 2022 (Photo: Harem Jaff/Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An unidentified drone hit a unit of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Erbil the province on Monday night, the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) of the Security Council said in a statement. 

Coming from Raparin area in Sulaimani province, the Kurdish militants arrived in Balisan Valley of Khalifan subdistrict, where they were targeted by an unmanned aerial vehicle, the statement added. 

At least two suspected PKK militants have been killed by the strike, Kurdistan 24 correspondent at the scene said. 

The head of Soran Independent Administration Halgurd Sheikh Najeeb has similarly confirmed to Kurdistan 24 that there have been casualties, without elaborating further.

The security forces have been investigating the incident, the elite forces added.

Turkey has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Soran Mayor Maghdid Hamad Hussein previously told Kurdistan 24 the aerial hit was a drone strike, without elaborating further details. 

"There is no information about the damage caused by the attack," he said.

In addition to its ground-and-air military operations inside Kurdistan Region, Ankara regularly launches drone strikes against alleged members of the group, against which it has been fighting for decades. 

Thousands have been killed from both warring sides as well as civilians as a result of the decades-old fighting. 

Kurdistan Region authorities constantly call on both sides to take their fight away from the border areas, where the safety of civilians and their livelihoods have been endangered.