Turkey and Iran bombard villages in Iraqi Kurdistan
Turkish drones bombed the Amedi area of Duhok province and targets north of Sulaymaniyah several times on Monday.
The Turkish aerial assaults came as Iranian artillery continued bombarding areas of northern Iraq, also targeting Kurdish fighters.
A Turkish drone attacked Sigeri village in the Amedi region of Duhok province, and no casualties were reported. Similar Turkish drone attacks were reported in other areas located near Sulaymaniyah.
The mayor of Mawat, Kamran Hussain, said the Turkish drones had hit parts of Galala, a village in Sulaymaniyah’s Mawat sub-district, adding that no casualties or damages had been reported.
This was the second time in just over a month that a Turkish drone has hit the Mawat area, after a strike on 22 August hit the village of Qamishi.
Turkish fighter jets and drones regularly carry out air strikes in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to support Turkey’s cross-border operations against fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
However, Turkey’s attacks in northern Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan have frequently resulted in civilian casualties. In July, Turkish shells struck a tourist spot in the Zakho district, killing nine people.
Meanwhile, Iranian artillery bombarded the Sidakan area in Iraqi Kurdistan for the third day running.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Monday morning that its ground and drone units were set to begin a new round of attacks against Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The first stage of the attacks began on September 24, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) accused the groups of violating the Iranian border and causing chaos in Kurdish-populated cities in Iran.
The bombardments have mainly focused on the mountainous areas of Sidakan, northeast of Erbil province, where the Kurdish opposition strongholds are based.
The shelling took place amid widespread anti-government demonstrations over the death of the 22-year-old Kurd Jina (Mahsa) Amini, which have been particularly popular in mainly Kurdish provinces bordering Iraq and Turkey.
Dozens of protesters have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and over 1,000 have been arrested during the protests, according to Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.