PKK terrorists last year killed, injured scores of civilians in northern Iraq

By Anadolu Agency Staff

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - Last year alone, scores of civilians and security forces lost their lives or were injured in terrorist attacks carried out by the terrorist group PKK in Iraq.

While hundreds of villages have been evacuated due to the PKK's presence in Iraq, thousands of Ezidis from northern Iraq's Sinjar region unable to go back to their homes have been struggling to survive in camps in the hope of returning.

The PKK targeted many security forces with attacks and mines it laid on the road and also targeted civilians, including children and tourists, in terrorist attacks last year.

- PKK terrorist acts last year

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

The Security Council of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq announced on April 17 that it had seized a ton of explosives in Dohuk.

The PKK attacked the Iraqi Army in the Sinjar district of the Mosul province on April 19, injuring five soldiers.

Also, 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of explosive material placed by the PKK in the Amadiya district was defused on May 4.

The leg of 45-year-old Hursid Musa, the father of eight children, was amputated due to a mine placed by the PKK in Shehan in the Duhok province on May 7.

On May 16, the KRG Security Council also announced that a group of PKK terrorists was caught while preparing to attack and that a large supply of ammunition was confiscated.

The PKK terrorists were reportedly preparing to organize bombings in the KRG.

In May, the PKK also carried out a bomb attack on the satellite center of a TV channel in Dohuk, while two children were killed and one other was injured in the Amadiya district in a PKK bomb attack. In another attack on Peshmerga forces in the Amadiya district, one Peshmerga soldier was injured.

In June, a roadside bomb placed by the PKK killed a Danish cyclist in the Amadiya district and another person was injured. Additionally, the PKK kidnapped a Peshmerga soldier in the Sinjar region. The terrorist group also launched an attack on Peshmerga forces. The terrorist group’s militants opened fire on people demonstrating against them, and there were injuries in the Sinjar district of the Mosul province

- Ezidi community under PKK presence in Sinjar region

After Daesh/ISIS attacks in 2014, most Ezidis had to leave their homes and flee to various parts of the country, including the KRG area. Some of the Ezidis also took refuge in Turkiye.

The PKK abducted and forcibly recruited Ezidi children in Sinjar. The Ezidis held many protests for the release of their children kidnapped by the terror group.

Due to the PKK's presence in the Sinjar region, the Ezidis had to flee their homes once again after clashes between the PKK and the Iraqi army.

In May, Viyan Dehil, an Ezidi lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament, said more than 4,000 civilians have been displaced in Sinjar in just two days, while at least 701 families reportedly left their homes due to the conflicts in Sinjar.

- Villages evacuated

Also, 380 villages in the Duhok province were abandoned due to the PKK, according to regional authorities.

In a Feb. 27, 2021 statement, KRG Prime Minister Masoud Barzani stressed that authorities could not rebuild 800 villages due to the PKK terrorist group, adding that they would not tolerate its presence in the region.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.