Iraq demands Turkey apologise over airport attack

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi says he was in a convoy with US troops on the Sulaimaniyah airport at time of assault.

The Iraqi authorities has referred to as on Turkey to apologise for an assault on an airport within the nation’s northern Kurdish area, denouncing what it referred to as a “flagrant aggression” in opposition to its sovereignty within the space.

The demand on Saturday got here as a Turkish Defence Ministry official advised the Reuters information company that no Turkish Armed Forces operation had taken place in that area in current days.

Iraq’s presidency stated the assault on Friday came about within the neighborhood of the Sulaimaniyah airport within the semi-autonomous Kurdish area. It blamed Turkey for the assault and stated Ankara had no authorized justification to proceed “intimidating civilians underneath the pretext that forces hostile to it are current on Iraqi soil”.

“On this regard we name on the Turkish authorities to take duty and current an official apology,” it stated.

Turkey, which has spent many years combating Kurdish armed teams in its east, has performed a number of army operations together with air raids in northern Iraq and northern Syria in opposition to Kurdish-led forces there.

Ankara views the Kurdish-led forces as “terrorists” allied with the outlawed Kurdistan Staff’ Get together or PKK.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the US, stated in an announcement on Saturday that its chief, Mazloum Abdi, was on the Sulaimaniyah airport on the time of the assault however “no hurt was achieved”.

Abdi condemned the assault on Saturday, telling the Kurdish North Press Company that on the time of the shelling, he was in a convoy that included troops from the US-led coalition and members of the Iraqi Kurdish anti-terrorism power.

Requested in regards to the cause behind the assault, Abdi stated, “It’s a clear message from the Turks that they’re bothered and oppose our worldwide relations they usually wish to injury them.”

Abdi added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in search of a “free victory” forward of the nation’s parliamentary and presidential elections subsequent month.

A US official confirmed to Reuters there was an assault on a convoy within the space and US army personnel have been in it, however stated there have been no casualties.

About 900 US troops stay in Syria, most within the Kurdish-administered northeast, as a part of a US-led coalition battling remnants of the ISIS, or ISIL armed group.

An knowledgeable supply near the management of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the occasion that controls the Sulaimaniyah space, and two Kurdish safety officers additionally confirmed to Reuters that Abdi and three US army personnel have been close to the airport.

Al Al Jazeera’s Ameer Fendi, citing sources on the Sulaimaniyah airport, stated the assault “broken a big a part of the ability’s outer fence, however didn’t trigger any casualties”.

He famous that the assault got here days after Turkey closed its airspace to plane travelling to and from Sulaimaniyah on account of what it stated was intensified exercise there by PKK fighters, and stated the shelling had escalated tensions between the principle events within the Iraqi Kurdish authorities.

A press release from the Iraqi Kurdish regional authorities, which is primarily managed by the Kurdistan Democratic Get together, appeared in charge the PUK for Friday’s occasions. It accused them of frightening an assault on the airport and utilizing “authorities establishments” for “unlawful actions”.

Ankara has shut ties to the Kurdistan Democratic Get together, which is the most important occasion within the semi-autonomous Kurdish area and is dominant within the regional capital, Erbil.

Its rival, the PUK, has nearer ties to the PKK and is dominant in Sulaimaniyah.

Fendi, reporting from Erbil, stated, “The presidency of the Iraqi Kurdish area has referred to as on the 2 events to cease exchanging accusations and to analyze the circumstances of this current shelling.

“This tense environment between the 2 sides of the Kurdish Regional Authorities comes at a time when the airspace in Turkey stays closed to flights coming from Sulaimaniyah airport, and at a time when many say the variations between each events of the federal government ought to come to an finish …. as individuals right here prepare for legislative elections scheduled for later this 12 months,” he added.