KRG denies PKK presence at Arbat Airport during drone strike
Photo: MA
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The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has denied claims that Syrian Kurdish forces were present during a drone strike on an airport in Sulaymaniyah on Monday.
Turkey had alleged that at the time of the strike, members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were "conducting joint exercises."
KRG Deputy PM Kubad Talabani refused this claim, saying, "All those who were martyred and injured in the attack were brave Kurdistan Peshmerga and counter-terrorism unit members. Apart from them, there was no other force at the airport," according to Rudaw.
Talabani described the attack as a "dangerous development" and emphasized that the Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) targeted in the attack had been the "main ally of coalition forces in the fight against terrorism" for two decades.
The PUK had previously announced that three of its members were killed in the attack. However, Kurdistan Watch, a news outlet based in Erbil, reported unconfirmed information suggesting that Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) members were also targeted in the attack, resulting in at least three SDF members' deaths. The SDF has not yet issued a statement on the matter.
The Baghdad government had announced that it would issue a protest note to Turkey over the attack.
Turkey, while not directly claiming responsibility for the attack, stated in a Foreign Ministry statement on Tuesday that the incident "revealed the relationship between some security elements affiliated with the PUK and the PKK." Turkey regards the SDF as the Syrian extension of the PKK.
The ministry also asserted that the attack showed that Turkey's recent "measures" in Sulaymaniyah were accurate.
Background
On April 7, Turkish airspace was closed to flights departing from Sulaymaniyah International Airport until July 3. Turkish Airlines, which operated two daily flights to Sulaymaniyah, had suspended all flights to the airport on April 3, citing "PKK activities" as the reason.
On April 7, a drone attack took place while SDF General Commander Mazlum Kobani was also in Sulaymaniyah.
On the night of March 15, a helicopter crashed near the village of Berkiyat, in the Çemankê district of Amêdî in the KRG, killing seven people, including three women. It was later revealed that the victims were SDF members flying from Sulaymaniyah to Rojava.
The incident was also mentioned in the National Security Council statement at the end of March, which said, "Recent developments observed especially in Syria and Iraq have once again revealed the true intention of actors who continue to equip the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG with all means and capabilities, including helicopters, under the guise of combating the ISIS terrorist organization." (AEK/VK)