Turkey shells PKK targets in Northern Iraq

Turkish warplanes have targeted several Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in Northern Iraq’s Dohuk region on Wednesday, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported, citing local sources.

The bombardment in Kani Masi (Ain Nuni) village, a sub-district of Dohuk in Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), came after Turkey’s drone attack in Sinjar on the weekend, Mehr said.

Turkish military forces regularly conduct cross-border operations in Northern Iraq against Kurdish militants. The latest series of air strikes dubbed “Operation Claw Lock” has launched in April, prompting condemnation from Iraqi authorities. According to Iraqi presidency, the operation within Iraq’s border is a “violation” of the country’s sovereignty and a “threat to its national security” and should be stopped.

PKK is an outlawed armed group in Turkey, fighting an insurgency on Turkish soil for almost four decades and designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. 

Last month, PKK blamed Turkey of using chemical weapons against its militia in Northern Iraq. Ankara denied the allegations.

Since 2016, Turkey also carried out three military operations into Northern Syria to combat Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed group that Ankara sees as an offshoot of the PKK. The YPG is allied with the West in a fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), forming the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).