ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Three people were killed on Wednesday afternoon after their vehicle was targeted in a drone strike near the town of Khalakan, Sulaimani province, local officials confirmed to The New Region.

“There were three people in the car. The vehicle caught fire due to the strike, killing all the passengers,” Sirwan Lala Sarhad, Dukan mayor, told The New Region.

No side has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the region has in the past been a target of similar Turkish attacks, under the pretext of targeting elements belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“We do not know yet,” Lala Sarhad said of the identity of the slain passengers.

Kamaran Abdulla, mayor of Khalakan subdistrict, for his part said “all the three passengers were men.”

“The dead bodies have been transferred to Sulaimani,” Abdulla detailed.

BREAKING: Three people were reportedly killed on Wednesday afternoon after their vehicle, said to be a Toyota Land Cruiser, came under a drone attack near Khalakan town, Dokan district, Sulaimani province pic.twitter.com/3AB6z9P9H0

— The New Region (@thenewregion) September 4, 2024

The latest drone attack claimed by Turkey on Sulaimani province was carried out on August 23 when they hit a vehicle, killing two people and wounding another individual who belonged to a PKK affiliated media outlet. 

Today's attack comes at a time that Turkey 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 in mid-August 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.

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

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.