Turkish drone strike kills three PKK fighters in Duhok’s Amedi district

DUHOK — A Turkish drone strike in Duhok’s Amedi district late Saturday night killed three Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, fighters, including a senior official, the Kurdistan Region Counter-Terrorism Agency announced Sunday.

According to the agency’s statement, the attack targeted a PKK vehicle in the village of Kalili within the Chamanke district, a mountainous area near the Iraq-Turkey border frequently used for regional military operations.

Since April 2022, Turkey has intensified its military campaign against the PKK in Iraq’s Kurdistan region under “Operation Claw-Lock,” focusing on areas such as Metina, Zap, and Avashin-Basyan in Duhok’s rugged terrain. These operations rely heavily on drone strikes, often targeting PKK officials traveling in vehicles.

The ongoing conflict has led to numerous casualties among PKK members, affiliates, and occasionally civilians. On September 5, 2024, a suspected Turkish drone strike near Hermila village in Sharbazher reportedly killed three civilians, according to Community Peacemaker Teams. The previous day, another strike in Khalakan, Dukan, Sulaymaniyah, killed three people.

Earlier, on August 23, a suspected Turkish drone strike on the Sulaymaniyah-Halabja road killed two media workers from Chatr Multimedia Production, an affiliate of PKK-linked Sterk TV.

A report by the U.S.-based Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan, published August 14, documented the human toll of regional military operations. The report highlighted 425 civilian deaths and 420 injuries in Kurdistan since 1991, with over 83% of casualties attributed to Turkish military actions. The report also noted a sharp rise in incidents since 2018.