Baghdad: Turkish air strike on airport a clear violation of international law

Iraqi Presidency on Tuesday strongly condemned the deadly Turkish air strike that targeted an agricultural airport in Kurdistan Region's Sulaymaniyah province on Monday.

The attack on Arbat airport yesterday resulted in at least six fatalities.

The Presidency said in a statement that the air strike was unacceptable and in violation of both good neighborly relations and international law. It announced its intention to send a protest note to the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad.

Expressing concern over "escalating and systematic military attacks in Iraqi territory, particularly in the Kurdistan Region," it stressed that these "acts of aggression have targeted innocent civilians, military personnel, and security installations."

Iraq has repeatedly called for dialogue and cooperation with Turkey to address security concerns but has not received a satisfactory response, it noted, adding that military attacks on cities and civilians using weapons typically reserved for open warfare, such as drones, was a clear "violation of international law."

Ankara: Terrorists were conducting training at the time of explosion

While Turkish foreign ministry in a statement today referred to the incident simply as an "explosion" and did not claim responsibility for the attack, it said:

"It is understood that the members of the PUK’s 'Anti-Terrorist Group' were conducting a training exercise together with PKK/YPG terrorists at the time of the explosion."

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has so far refrained from voicing any reaction to the attack in its territory.