Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned a drone strike that killed two Kurdish journalists and injured a third in the Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) district of Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday. The organisation has called for an immediate and thorough investigation into the attack, which targeted a vehicle carrying journalists on assignment for Sterk TV.
The drone strike, which local sources attribute to the Turkish military, killed Hero Bahadin, 27, and Gülistan Tara, 40, both of whom were employed by the Kurdish media production company CHATR. Rebin Bakir, another journalist, was injured in the attack. Witnesses reported that the vehicle was struck in the Said Sadiq district, an area that has seen increased Turkish military activity. However, the Turkish Defence Ministry denied responsibility, claiming the strike was not conducted by Turkish forces.
“With three media workers killed in just two months, the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan is becoming one of the most dangerous areas in the world for reporters,” said Jonathan Dagher, head of RSF’s Middle East office. “We condemn the strike that killed Hero Bahadin and Gülistan Tara. We call on the [Iraqi] Kurdish authorities to shed full light on this crime that took place on their territory. The Turkish authorities must be held accountable: the Turkish Defence Ministry’s denial is insufficient. Kurdish journalists must be safe and justice must be served for Hero Bahadin and Gülistan Tara.”
This incident follows a pattern of targeted attacks on Kurdish journalists in the region. Earlier this year, on 8 July, another journalist, Murad Mirza Ibrahim, was killed in a drone strike attributed to Turkish forces. These attacks have raised alarms about the systematic targeting of media workers, particularly those affiliated with Kurdish outlets, in Turkey’s ongoing conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Iraqi-Kurdish authorities, including the Vice Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Qubad Talabani, affirmed that the victims were journalists with no ties to any armed groups, challenging claims by Erbil-based counterterrorism forces that the strike targeted PKK fighters. “The victims of this airstrike were journalists and posed no threat to any country’s security or stability,” Talabani stated.
Kamal Hama Ridha, the general manager of CHATR Media, also condemned the drone strike, attributing it to “dark intelligence and internal hands” working alongside the Turkish state. Ridha strongly refuted claims from certain media outlets that suggested the victims were PKK fighters, emphasising that they were journalists with no political affiliations. He highlighted that Gülistan Tara, originally from Batman (Êlih) in Turkey, had worked with CHATR for three years, while Hero Bahadin was a native of Sulaymaniyah. Ridha called on everyone to combat misinformation by revealing the truth behind the attack.
