Six killed in attack on small airport in Iraq's Kurdistan
The Hindu
Six killed in drone strike on Arbid airport in Iraq's Kurdistan region; two members of Kurdish security forces wounded; identities of deceased unknown; initial info suggests Turkish drone used; Iraqi Kurdistan's Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani condemns attack, demands federal gov't intervene.
Six people were killed on Monday, September 18, 2023, in a drone strike on the small military airport of Arbid in Iraq's Kurdistan region, a local official and a security source told Reuters.
Iraqi Kurdish security forces sealed off the area, according to two security sources.
Arbid is a small airport used for helicopters located 50 km to the east of the city of Sulaimaniya in the northeast of the country.
Two members of the Kurdish security forces were wounded in the attack and were rushed to a military hospital in Sulaimaniya under tight security, said the police source.
Police said the identities of the deceased were still unknown.
One security source said initial information suggested a Turkish drone was used in the attack against a suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) target.
Turkey regularly carries out air strikes on PKK militants in northern Iraq and has dozens of outposts in Iraqi territory. The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.
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