One dead in north Iraq strike blamed on Turkey

One person was killed and two were wounded on Monday in a strike on a refugee camp in northern Iraq, the autonomous Kurdistan region’s counter-terrorism service said, blaming Turkey.

A member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was among the victims, the same source added, without specifying whether he was dead or wounded.

The decades-long conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies consider a terrorist organisation, has often spilled over into northern Iraq.

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Both sides maintain military positions or rear bases in the north, primarily in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Monday morning’s strike targeted a PKK meeting place in Makhmur camp, located in an area that is disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdish authorities.

The counter-terrorism services said a “Turkish army drone” had killed one person and wounded two others, including a PKK member.

Makhmur camp, seen by Ankara as a PKK stronghold, is regularly targeted by Turkish forces. It is in Nineveh province, about 60 kilometres (35 miles) southwest of Arbil, the Iraqi Kurdistan capital.

For months, Ankara has been pressing Iraq to adopt a stronger position on the PKK. In March, Baghdad classified the group as a “banned organisation”.

In mid-August, Turkey and Iraq signed a military cooperation agreement to set up joint command and training centres to fight the PKK.

Baghdad and Arbil have often been accused of turning a blind eye to maintain their strategic alliance with Turkey, a crucial trading parter.

By: Agence France-Presse

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