News

Two civilians killed in suspected Turkish drone attack in Duhok

The New Region

Jan. 27, 2025 • 2 min read
Image of Two civilians killed in suspected Turkish drone attack in Duhok File photo: A suspected Turkish drone attack in Duhok province.

Two civilians - Jaafar Jalal and his wife - were killed in the village of Shahe, Dinarte town, Duhok province. A well-informed source told The New Region that relatives and locals have rushed to the site of the incident to retrieve the dead bodies.

 

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - At least two people were killed on Monday in a suspected Turkish drone attack on alleged positions of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the town of Dinarte, Duhok province, a local official confirmed to The New Region.

 

Two civilians - Jaafar Jalal and his wife - were killed in the village of Shahe, Dinarte town, Duhok province in Turkish bombardment.

 

A well-informed source told The New Region that relatives and locals have rushed to the site of the incident to retrieve the dead bodies. 

 

Civilians are frequently caught in the Turkey-PKK crossfire, bearing the brunt of the nearly four-decade-long war. 

 

The PKK has a large number of positions in the Kurdistan Region, including the Qandil headquarters. Turkey alike has military bases used to strike the group. 

 

The PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group, designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, uses mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region as shelter and often engages in direct armed conflict with Turkey.

 

Turkey has for years launched several rounds of an operation dubbed Claw Operation against positions of the PKK in the Kurdistan Region. The latest series of operations was launched in April 2022, dubbed Operation Claw Lock, which aims to end the group’s presence in the region.

 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year claimed that they were close to permanently “resolving” the PKK presence on the Turkey-Iraq border.

 

Today’s incident comes a day after Turkey’s Defense Ministry claimed it had killed 13 PKK fighters in the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous regions of Gara, Khuakurk, and Matin.

 

In a visit to Baghdad, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday called for an international effort to fight the PKK and urged the Iraqi government to recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization.

 

Iraq officially in July 2024 rebranded the PKK to “Banned PKK” in all affairs of state, months after a high-level meeting between Ankara and Baghdad led the Iraqi side to criminalize the group officially.

 

In a bit to establish security amid the PKK-Turkey crossfire, the Iraqi government in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has deployed federal guards along its border with Turkey.

 

Profile picture of The New Region
Author The New Region

NEWSLETTER

Get the latest updates delivered to your inbox.