Turkish warplanes strike border areas in Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region
Shafaq News/ Turkish warplanescarried out airstrikes on border areas in Erbil and Al-Sulaymaniyahgovernorates in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, according to Kamiran Osman, headof the Human Rights Department at the US-based organization Community PeacemakerTeams (CPT).
Osman told Shafaq News Agency thatthe strikes occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, with Turkish jets targetingthe Baski Beryan area three times and hitting the village of Gonda Zor once inthe Palkayti border region of Erbil's Choman district.
"Approximately an hour later,the Turkish aircraft bombed the Barzot and Kalawa mountains near the village ofKalala in the Mawat district four times." He added.
Osman confirmed that the airstrikesdid not result in any civilian casualties, but they caused extensive damage,setting large areas of grasslands and forests ablaze.
According to a CPT report publishedthis August, since IraqiKurdistan’s semi-autonomous territory was established in 1991, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have been responsible for 83% ofcivilian casualties inside Iraqi Kurdistan, resulting in 344 civilian deathsand 358 injuries, totaling 702 casualties. A significant portion of thesecasualties, 39%, occurred between 2018 and 2024, following an increase inmilitary operations that began in December 2017. These operations, called the'Claw' series, aim to create a buffer zone along the 360-kilometer-longIraq/Turkiye border.
Turkiye, according to the report,has established 74 military bases inside Iraqi Kurdistan, leading to thedisplacement of thousands from at least 170 villages, with an additional 602villages at risk. The Turkish military operations have severely disrupted localeconomies, livelihoods, and indigenous ways of life.
Notably, 59% of the casualtiesoccurred while the victims were at home or engaged in agriculture, and 28% ofthe casualties were children, with 79 killed and 115 injured, the report said.
