8 people killed in attack on airport near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 (YPA) – At least eight people were killed on Tuesday in a suspected drone strike on the small “Arbat” military airport near Sulaymaniyah Governorate in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, “Reuters” agency reported.

According two security sources, Kurdish security forces cordoned off the area.

A police source stated that two members of the Kurdish security forces were injured in the attack and were transferred to a military hospital in Sulaymaniyah under tight security guard.

Police said that the identity of the deceased has not yet been determined.

A security source reported that preliminary information indicates the use of a Turkish drone in the attack on a target suspected of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the dominant Kurdish parties in northern Iraq, confirmed that the attack occurred by a drone, but said that the six victims were members of the Iraqi Kurdish counter-terrorism force.

Arbat is a small airport used by helicopters, 50 kilometers east of the city of Sulaymaniyah in northeastern Iraq.

Turkey usually launches air strikes on PKK fighters in northern Iraq and has dozens of sites in Iraqi territory.

YPA