One dead after protesters storm Turkish military camp in north Iraq

One protester was killed and at least 10 others wounded when they stormed a Turkish military camp near Dohuk in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Saturday, burning two tanks and other vehicles, residents and Kurdish officials said.

An unnamed Kurdish official in the region of Dohuk said the crowd was demonstrating over a recent Turkish air raid that killed four civilians. He did not want to be named.

Najib Saeed, the chief health official in the area, said it was not yet clear what caused the death of the protester. Saeed said Turkish soldiers had shot at protesters and that the burning of vehicles and equipment had caused several explosions.

Turkey's Defence Ministry wrote on Twitter: "An attack has occurred on one of the bases located in northern Iraq as a result of provocation by the PKK terrorist organisation. There was partial damage to vehicles and equipment during the attack.

"Necessary precautions are being taken regarding the incident," the ministry said, without naming the base.

Turkey carries out regular air raids near the border against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has bases in northern Iraq and has fought a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.

A second Kurdish official, who also did not give his name, said Turkish troops at the camp in Shiladze, east of Dohuk, had initially shot at the protesters and then left the camp.

Kurdish security forces are trying to control the situation, he said.

Turkish airstrikes in the Kurdish region of Iraq, controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), have outraged Kurdish politicians, who accuse the government of failing to challenge Ankara's actions.

Sarkawt Shams, a member of the Iraqi parliament from the New Generation party, told Middle East Eye the KRG can only do so much, but should come out stronger against Turkey's air strikes nonetheless.

"The KRG is limited, but it can condemn it at least," Shams said. "The KRG has been silent and it is shameful for KRG leadership."

The KRG is dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), who have historically enjoyed good relations with Ankara, despite falling out in 2017 after the Kurdish independence referendum in October of that year.

At least four reporters from the NRT TV channel - which is regularly critical of the KDP - were arrested on Saturday while covering the protests.

The surprise announcement last month that US forces would be withdrawing from neighbouring Syria, where they have been directing the fight against Islamic State, raised fears that Turkey would move against US-backed Kurdish forces which it views as terrorists.

Turkey says the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia is an extension of the PKK.

Trump has threatened economic ruin for Turkey should it attack the YPG, however.