BAGHDAD: Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid on Saturday condemned Turkey for bombarding an area near Sulaimaniyah airport in the autonomous Kurdish region, a flashpoint between the two governments.
Abdel Latif Rashid, who is himself a Kurd from Sulaimaniyah province, said that such actions by Turkish troops have “no legal justification” and serve just to “terrorize civilians under the pretext that hostile troops are present in Iraq”.
The afternoon bombardment caused a little fire near the airport, which was quickly brought under control, according to a statement from airport security. Turkey has repeatedly sought the removal of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) group in air and ground offensive using drones to target them.
On Monday, Ankara stopped flights to and from Sulaimaniyah until at least July 3, blaming PKK’s increased activity in and around the airport.
The Turkish foreign ministry stated at the time that PKK militants’ activities were posing a “threat” to air security.
In early March, a Turkish drone attack in northern Iraq killed at least two Yazidi fighters linked with the PKK, days after a similar strike killed three other fighters.
The PKK group has waged an insurgency in Turkey that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984.
Turkish forces strikes in Syria
Turkey has also carried out several incursions into neighbouring Syria to push back Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which Turkey considers being an extension of the PKK.
On Saturday, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi condemned the bombardment against Sulaimaniyah airport. He said it was a sign of Turkish irritation at the support given to the SDF by the province’s dominant faction, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Turkey regards the SDF group and its main component, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as an offshoot of the PKK fighters, even though the force is backed by the United States (US) as the mainstay of its campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria.
In response to Rashid’s condemnation, a source at the Turkish defense ministry denied any involvement in Friday’s bombardment, saying, “Turkish armed forces undertook no such activity”.
The situation remains tense between the two governments as Turkey continues its operations against the PKK in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
