Iraq sends 50 aid planes to Türkiye, Syria after earthquake disaster

By Mohamed Rajawi

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraq said Saturday it has dispatched 50 planes loaded with humanitarian aid to quake victims in Türkiye and Syria.

“Iraq has flown 26 planes carrying 136.5 tons of aid to the Gaziantep Airport in southern Türkiye,” Haider Majeed, the spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Ministry Secretariat, told the state news agency INA.

He added that 24 planes carrying 126.5 tons of aid were also sent to the Damascus and Aleppo airports in Syria.

The spokesman said that three more aid planes will be flown to Latakia in Syria later on Saturday.

Majeed said 35 rescuers have also joined rescue and search efforts in quake-hit Türkiye.

According to the spokesman, 13 Iraqis were killed and 22 others injured in Gaziantep in the earthquake disaster.

At least 39,672 people were killed in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people were killed in the earthquake disaster.