An airstrike on Arbat Airport in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region has led to casualties, local officials have reported. The attack, which took place southeast of the city of Suleimaniyah, resulted in the deaths of three personnel from the region’s counter-terrorism service, while three members of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces were also injured.
The airport had recently undergone rehabilitation to support the training of anti-terror units associated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Sulaymaniyah governorate, where the airport is located, issued a statement urging countries in the region to respect the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. Although the counter-terrorism service did not attribute responsibility for the attack, this statement implies that the airstrike was carried out by Turkey.
In addition to this incident, the Kurdistan National Congress, an umbrella organization of Kurdish groups and parties, revealed that one of its members was “assassinated” inside the group’s office in Erbil. However, further details were not provided.
Turkey has frequently conducted airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against targets believed to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group that has been engaged in insurgency against Turkey for several decades. In April, Turkey closed its airspace to flights to and from Sulaymaniyah International Airport due to alleged increased activity by Kurdish militants that threatened flight safety.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group operating in northeast Syria, accused Turkey of launching a strike on the airport in April when SDF commander Mazloum Abdi was present. However, Abdi was unharmed in the attack.
Sources:
– Kurdistan National Congress
– Counter-terrorism service of the Kurdistan Region
