Iraqi army has implicated Turkey in yesterday's Arbat airport attack
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A blast occurred at Arbat Airport, located in the Sulaymaniyah province of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), yesterday (September 18) resulting in casualties.
Three members of the military unit CTG Kurdistan, affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were killed and unverified reports suggest that members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were also targeted. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Today, Major-General Yahya Resul, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Armed Forces, pointed the finger at Turkey in a statement made on his social media account. Resul stated that on September 18, at 17:00, a Turkish UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) entered Iraqi airspace from the Turkish border and bombed Arbat Airport, resulting in the loss of three members of the "Counter-Terrorism Group Kurdistan" and the injury of three others.
Describing the attack as a "violation of Iraq's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity," Yahya Resul also said:
"These repeated attacks are not in line with the principles of good neighborly relations between countries. They threaten to undermine Iraq's efforts to establish good and balanced political, security, and economic relations with its neighbors. Iraq reserves the right to put an end to these violations."
Previous incidents
On April 7, a UCAV attack occurred near Sulaymaniyah International Airport, targeting General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazlum Kobani. While the SDF denied such an incident and stated, "Our general commander is at his post. Such news aims to exert political pressure on some powers in the Kurdistan Region," Mazlum Kobani later confirmed the attack.
Furthermore, Ferhad Şami, the Media Relations Officer of the SDF, confirmed that General Commander Mazlum Kobani was in Sulaymaniyah during the UCAV attack on Sulaymaniyah International Airport.
Joe Buccino, spokesperson for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), revealed that U.S. soldiers were in the targeted convoy.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously announced the closure of Turkish airspace for flights to Sulaymaniyah International Airport until July 3, prior to the attack. Turkish Airlines, which operates two daily flights to Sulaymaniyah, had suspended all flights to the airport on April 3. The decision was attributed to the activities of the PKK in Sulaymaniyah.
In a separate incident on March 15, a helicopter crashed in Duhok, in KRG region, resulting in the death of seven people, including three women. It was later determined that these individuals were members of the SDF flying from Sulaymaniyah to Rojava. The incident was also mentioned in the National Security Council (MGK) statement at the end of March, stating that "the recent developments observed in Syria and Iraq, especially those related to actors who continue to provide support to the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG under the pretext of combating the ISIS terrorist organization, have once again revealed the true intentions of these actors." (VC/PE)