The People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), recently claimed significant Turkish military casualties in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), specifically in Girê Amediyê, located in the Duhok (Dihok) Governorate. These assertions remain unconfirmed by official Turkish sources.
The escalation of conflict has been ongoing, with allegations that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in the KRI, facilitated the Turkish army’s incursion. The KDP is accused of allowing Turkish forces to establish positions while disguised as Peshmerga in these strategic areas, according to Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Co-Chair Ahmed Karamus.
In a detailed statement, the HPG alleged that the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) suffered 49 casualties during these operations. They also released footage purportedly showing preparations for the operation. However, the public’s access to credible information remains limited due to Turkish Defence Ministry’s long-standing policy of withholding accurate fatality figures and widespread censorship in Turkish media. Further complicating the matter, the KDP, which controls the regions where the current escalation occurs, restricts press access, hindering independent reporting on the situation.
The HPG stated they conducted a “comprehensive revolutionary operation” on 20 November against the “occupiers” in Girê Amediyê. The operation was carried out simultaneously in three different locations, with HPG claiming that 49 “occupiers” were “punished”.
The All Martyrs Families Association, representing families of deceased soldiers, issued a statement at the beginning of this year, highlighting the secretive burials and suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of Turkish soldiers. Their accounts corroborate the HPG’s claims and raise questions about the true extent of Turkish military losses in the region. The association’s statement detailed cases where soldiers’ deaths were hastily labelled as suicides or accidents, intensifying concerns about the nature of these deaths.
Another indirect confirmation of the escalation came when KRI-based Rudaw shared a footage of Turkish soldiers marching through the village of Dure in Duhok, providing visual evidence of the Turkish military’s presence in the region.
