Iraqi airspace cleared for Turkish fighter jets

The Turkish state’s bombing of the border region in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) has long since become routine. Air strikes on Qamishlo, Shengal and the Asos Mountains near Sulaymaniyah, 200 kilometers from the Turkish-Iraqi border, are now part of everyday life. The airspace controlled by the U.S. and Iraq has been cleared for Turkish fighter jets.

On Tuesday morning, the Turkish Air Force bombed the Asos Mountains on the border with Eastern Kurdistan (Iran). Turkish War Minister Hulusi Akar boasted that twenty fighter jets bombed the region 200 kilometers from Turkey. The PJAK from Eastern Kurdistan is particularly present in the mountainous region. According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, 28 targets have been attacked. The attack was followed by Akar and the entire general staff at the Air Force Operations Center.

The villages of Xnuyana, Omeresenan, Binawyan, Kanî Mîran, Wîryawa, Saliyawa and Kizilco in the Penchewin district were affected by the twenty-minute airstrikes. The bombardments of civilian settlement areas were filmed by local residents. In one of the videos distributed, a villager said, “May the Turkish state be damned. This is a populated region, people live here. A bomb landed a hundred meters away from me.”

Houses have been bombed in the town of Şarbajar. According to local administrator Şaho Osman, the villages of Rengîne and Şêxil Marênî were attacked by aircraft and one house was hit. There were no fatalities or injuries, only property damage.

Turkish airstrikes in the Iraq-Iran border area

In the Iraq-Iran border area in southern Kurdistan, there are repeated air strikes by the Turkish army. In June, two YRK fighters were killed in a Turkish drone attack near Şarbajar. Just a few days earlier, four people werehad beenkilled in the bombing of a vehicle near Pîşder, and in early May Turkish fighter jets carried out attacks on the Asos Mountains. In August of this year, seven fighters of the Defense Units of Eastern Kurdistan (YRK) were killed in a Turkish drone attack on the Asos. Mawet was also bombed in the same month. In June 2020, a Turkish drone fired a precision missile at the village of Kuna Masî, killing two people, including a PJAK member.