Three "fighters" of a Yazidi movement affiliated to the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq were killed and three others wounded on Tuesday 22 May by a drone strike carried out by the Turkish army, said the anti-terrorist services of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan.

Tuesday at 5 am (2 GMT), "a drone of the Turkish army targeted a headquarters of the fighters of the Sinjar Resistance Units," said the anti-terrorist services in a statement, referring to this Yazidi movement implanted in the Sinjar region and allied to the Turkish Kurdish fighters of the PKK.

"Three fighters were killed," the statement added. A similar bombing a week ago to the day also claimed the lives of three fighters.

The Turkish army rarely comments on its strikes in Iraq but regularly conducts military ground and air operations against the PKK and its positions in northern Iraq, autonomous Kurdistan or the mountainous Sinjar region.

See also Iraq: Yazidis struggle to return home in Sinjar

Tensions over camp housing Kurdish refugees from Turkey

In late February and early March, bombings blamed on Turkey also caused the death of fighters from the Sinjar Resistance Units, a movement that had taken up arms against the jihadists of the Islamic State group at the time of their rise in power in 2014.

Illustrating the complexity of the struggles involving a multitude of actors in northern Iraq, the movement is also affiliated with the former paramilitaries of Hashd al-Shaabi, a pro-Iran coalition now integrated into the regular Iraqi forces.

For 25 years, Ankara has set up dozens of military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to fight against the PKK.

Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, have long been accused of turning a blind eye to preserve the strategic alliance uniting them with Turkey, an essential trading partner. Even if at each outbreak of violence, communiqués come to pay lip service to a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and the repercussions for civilians.

On Saturday, tensions erupted around the Makhmour camp housing Kurdish refugees from Turkey in northern Iraq. The Iraqi army wants to strengthen security by building a fence to control the entrances and exits of the camp, considered by Ankara as a breeding ground for the PKK.

With AFP

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