Suspected Turkish drone hits Choman village, no casualties reported

CHOMAN — A suspected Turkish drone strike in a village in the Choman district, Erbil governorate narrowly missed inhabited areas, according to U.S-based Community Peacemaker Team’s Kurdistan Region operation.

Kamaran Osman, the coordinator for CPT Iraqi Kurdistan told 964media that at approximately 4:15 p.m. today, a Turkish drone struck an area in the village of Warda.

Osman explained that, “The airstrike was very close to the inhabited areas and was specifically identified as being two kilometers away from the Choman district.”

For the past two weeks, Turkish drones have been operating over the mountainous and various areas of Choman. While no civilians were harmed in today’s incident, the ongoing airstrikes continue to pose a threat to the safety and security of the local population.

The Turkish military frequently conducts airstrikes across the Kurdistan Region, citing alleged presence of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK, an armed Kurdish organization, has been engaged in conflict with the Turkish state since the early 1980s.

A report published on Aug. 14 by the Community Peacemaker Teams detailed the human impact of ongoing regional military operations in the Kurdistan Region. According to the report, 425 civilians have been killed and 420 injured in the Kurdistan Region since 1991, with over 83% of these casualties linked to Turkish military actions. The report highlighted a big uptick in such incidents since 2018.