UPDATED – A Turkish drone on Friday targeted another civilian vehicle in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, specifically in Sulaymaniyah, resulting in the deaths of three individuals who were inside the vehicle during the attack.
The attack has resulted in the loss of three civilian lives, all members of a family based in Duhok. The individuals who have lost their lives are identified as follows: Hasan Ahmed Newzad, Jiyan Mustafa, Riyam Hasan Mustafa.
The administrative head of Nalparêz Town in the Penjwen (Pêncîwên) District, where the incident occurred, released an official statement confirming the targeted vehicle was subjected to an assault involving an explosive-laden payload while it was traveling, Roj News reported.
The incident marks the latest in a series of escalating Turkish assaults within the Iraqi Kurdistan region. A separate drone attack, just a day prior, claimed the life of an individual and left another severely wounded in Sulaymaniyah. Furthermore, on 6 August, another attack on a vehicle in a village near Duhok resulted in the death of a civilian and left another critically injured.
The Turkish government cites its ongoing air and ground operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq as the rationale behind its drone attacks. Turkey maintains an array of military bases within the region, frequently deploying operations against the PKK.
The Turkish armed forces seldom provide commentary on the attacks carried out within Iraq. Nevertheless, Turkish media has promptly reported Friday’s drone attack as breaking news, asserting that “three terrorists were neutralised” as a consequence of an operation carried out using a drone “belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces/National Intelligence Organisation”.
In response to Turkey’s military actions, both the Iraqi federal authorities and the Kurdistan regional government have faced accusations of tacitly endorsing these activities to safeguard their close economic ties.
