SULAIMANIYAH, Iraqi Kurdistan — The Turkish air force bombed areas around the city of Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan on June 29, killing four and injuring four others. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned the incident, demanding that Turkey stop bombing Iraqi territory.
In another incident, Turkish fighter jets on late June 27 targeted two civilian cars on Kurtak road at the foot of the Qandil Mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan, killing three persons from one family and wounding five civilians from another family, including children. Ankara’s reasoning for the strikes is to target the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the area.
The PKK, a Kurdish guerrilla force struggling for autonomy in Turkey, was formed in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, who is now imprisoned. The PKK launched an armed war against the Turkish army in 1984 that continues today. The PKK is described by Turkey, the United States and the EU as a "terrorist" organization.
The Qandil Mountains, a rough mountainous triangle area of northern Iraq stretching to the borders of neighboring Iran, is the stronghold of PKK fighters. Ankara, which accuses the PKK of launching assaults from the Kurdistan Region, has been targeting the region for decades; consequently, thousands of Kurdish villagers have been killed, injured and forced to evacuate their farms and orchards.
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