MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Turkish bombardment of Duhok province intensifying: local sources

14-02-2021 Khazan Jangiz – RUDAW – Also in Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey’s airstrikes on parts of the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province as part of its ongoing operation in the area are growing ever more frequent, local sources told Rudaw on Saturday.

The strikes “have caused material damage, and the sound of planes can constantly be heard in the skies over Deralok and Chamanke sub-districts,” a local source told Rudaw’s Nasir Ali, speaking anonymously for fear of repercussion.

Airstrikes at the foot of Gara Mountain have been increasing in frequency since last night, the source said, and four helicopters had been circling the area, home to “strategic PKK hideouts and positions.”

Emad Zebari, a teacher and a resident of Galaka village in the Deralok sub-district, told Rudaw that dozens of nomad tents in the local area have been destroyed.

Though Turkish airstrikes on parts of the Kurdistan Region bordering Turkey with the stated aim of targeting PKK bases are frequent, they have increased considerably since Turkey launched a new operation dubbed Claw-Eagle 2 against the Kurdish armed group on February 10.

The mayor of Akre district in Duhok province also told Rudaw that the strikes have intensified over the course of the operation.

“Six villages in our area have been hit by heavy bombardment,” mayor Mazen Mohammad Saeed said on Saturday.

Though no casualties have been reported in Akre district so far, the bombing has “created a lot of fear and anxiety among the people of that area,” he added.

Turkey’s defense ministry announced on Thursday that three of its soldiers had been killed by the PKK this week.

More than 40 Turkish Air Force planes have participated in Claw-Eagle 2, according to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency. The PKK are carrying out drone strikes on Turkish military targets in the Kurdistan Region, ANF has reported.

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