The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service reported that two attacks by Turkish drones on Thursday resulted in the deaths of seven members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), including two medical workers, in Erbil Province, northern Iraq, during the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to the region. In a statement earlier, the service indicated that three PKK members were killed in the Sidkan area when a Turkish drone attacked their vehicle. Another drone attack led to the deaths of four party members, including two medical workers, in the Sidkan area a few hours after the first attack.
The attacks occurred while Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was in Erbil to meet with senior Kurdish officials, including President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. Fidan urged Iraq on Tuesday in a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart to classify the PKK as a terrorist organization. Turkey regularly conducts airstrikes in northern Iraq and has dozens of military bases on Iraqi territory, but it has intensified its drone attacks in recent days, launching strikes near urban areas and targeting major roads.
