PKK terror group attacks Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq

By Anadolu Agency Staff

DUHOK, Iraq (AA) – The PKK terror group attacked Peshmerga soldiers of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), security sources said late Sunday.

Commenting to Anadolu Agency on the attack, which took place in Kani Masi village in Duhok province, local Peshmerga commander Major General Salar Teymur revealed that the terrorist group used rockets and machine guns.

The terrorists were repelled without causing any casualties among the Peshmerga’s ranks, he noted.

On June 5, 2021, five Peshmerga soldiers were killed in a PKK ambush in Duhok.

According to official data from the KRG government, the PKK had occupied 515 villages on the border of Erbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah in 2015. Of these, 304 were in Duhok province, while 177 were in Erbil and 34 in Sulaymaniyah.

Following Turkiye's successful cross-border operations in recent years, the PKK retreated from the Turkish border into Iraq. It occupied 285 more villages in the last seven years.

In a statement on Feb. 27, 2021, KRG Prime Minister Masoud Barzani emphasized that the authorities could not rebuild 800 villages because of the PKK, adding they would not tolerate the terror group's presence in the region. ​​​​​​​