Two civilians killed in Turkish air strike in northern Iraq

ANKARA (Reuters): Two civilians have been killed in a Turkish air strike in the mountainous Sheladiz area of northern Iraq’s Duhok province, two Iraqi security sources said on Friday.

Turkiye’s defense ministry said its forces carried out two air strikes in northern Iraq and northern Syria overnight, killing six militants in Iraq and seven in Syria. Its post on social media platform X did not provide further information.

The ministry did not say which regions the attacks targeted and it was unclear whether the ministry was referring to the same incident in northern Iraq as the security sources.

Turkiye regularly carries out air strikes and cross-border operations in neighboring Iraq as part of its offensive against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is mainly based in northern Iraq’s mountainous region.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.

Turkiye has also staged a series of military offensives and bombing campaigns in northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which it regards as a wing of the PKK.