A Turkish army mobile rocket launcher fires from the countryside of Syria’s Idlib province towards Syrian government forces in the countryside of neighboring Aleppo province on February 14, 2020. Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP
Eight rockets targeted Wednesday 1er February a Turkish military base in northern Iraq without causing casualties, announced the anti-terrorist services of autonomous Kurdistan, the forces of Ankara being established in the Iraqi neighbor to fight against Turkish Kurdish rebels.
Fierce fight against Kurdish rebels
For 25 years, Turkey has had dozens of military positions in northern Iraq, mainly in Iraqi Kurdistan, which has no choice but to accept this presence. In this region, the Turkish army is waging a fierce fight against the Turkish Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), classified as a “terroristby Turkey and Westerners. Rarely claimed, rocket fire or armed drone strikes sporadically target this Turkish military presence.
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“Eight rockets were fired at the Zilkan military base“, located in the province of Niniveh which adjoins Kurdistan of Iraq, announced in a press release the anti-terrorist services of Kurdistan, specifying that the attack took place around 07:45 (04:45 Paris time). Two projectiles fell inside the base, causing no casualties, the statement said.
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Regular operations
Turkey regularly conducts land and air military operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, which has rear bases in this area. In July, artillery strikes against a Kurdistan recreation area killed nine civilians, mostly Iraqi tourists from the south and center of the country.
Iraq blamed Turkey, which denied and pointed the finger at the PKK. In recent months, the influential Iranian neighbor has also carried out several deadly bombardments against factions of the Iranian Kurdish opposition exiled for decades in northern Iraq.
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