Turkish drone strike kills four PKK fighters, say Kurdish officials
A drone strike in northern Iraq killed four members of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), with officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) blaming the Turkish army for the incident.
The strike occurred near the city of Sulaymaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, and came a day after the Turkish army killed four members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in neighbouring Syria.
A KRG statement confirmed a strike occurred at 8pm local time on Friday and said: "Four PKK fighters were killed and wounded when a Turkish army drone targeted their vehicle near the village of Rangina."
Turkey has classified the PKK, an armed group based in northern Iraq, as a terrorist organisation, with members of the SDF viewed by Turkish authorities as an "offshoot" of the organisation.
The Turkish army rarely comments on strikes it makes against the PKK but regularly targets the group's bases in the mountains of the Kurdistan region.
Stay informed with MEE's newsletters
Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked
Earlier in May, Kurdish forces said Turkey killed fighters from the PKK-aligned Sinjar Resistance Units in northern Iraq.
Despite reported Turkish strikes, Iraq and the KRG have been accused of tolerating Turkey's presence in the region.
Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani mentioned plans for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit Iraq but did not specify when he planned to visit.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
