ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A vehicle, believed to belong to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters, was targeted near the village of Taparashi, Said Sadiq district, Sulaimani province on Friday morning, allegedly killing three PKK members, Kurdistan Region’s Counter-Terrorism units announced.

“According to information obtained by the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism… at 11am, Turkish unmanned drones targeted a PKK fighters’ vehicle near the village of Taparashi, Said Sadiq district, Sulaimani province, killing a PKK official, his driver, and another fighter,” read a statement from the Kurdistan CT.

The Turkish government has not claimed responsibility as of the time this article was published.

Roj News, a media outlet close to the PKK reported that the vehicle targeted in the suspected Turkish drone attack belonged to “Chatr Company,” another media outlet also close to the PKK. 

“It was targeted as they were driving to record a TV program, killing two female journalists," Roj News claimed.

Earlier in the day, Turkish aircraft bombed Chwarta district, also in Sulaimani province. No casualties were reported in the attack.

Turkey’s renewed attacks on Friday morning came at a time that the country has increased its cross-border activities in the Kurdistan Region and neighboring Syria.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization and conflict monitor has reported that in 2024 alone, Turkey has conducted over 800 attacks on northern Iraq, with civilians often bearing the brunt of the conflict.

In addition to its sporadic aerial attacks, Ankara has boots on the ground in parts of Iraq. The Turkish presidency on Thursday dismissed claims made by opposition parties in their country that they had allegedly agreed to withdraw their troops from Iraq in a meeting with Iraqi authorities in Ankara last week.

Iraq has in fact over the past year entered into agreements with Turkey in banning the PKK in the country and dismantling political parties close to them.

In addition to the mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region, Turkey has also increased its attacks on the Kurdish enclave of north and east Syria, targeting local forces in Hasakah province.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Ankara has carried out three drone attacks this week alone, resulting in human losses and significant material damages. 

Turkey labels the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its military backbone, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), to be the Syrian wing of the PKK despite the group on several occasions claiming that they only share ideology with 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.