SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States condemned a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack on the Peshmerga forces in Duhok governorate on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, a member of Peshmerga forces was killed and three others were wounded after an explosion hit their vehicle in Chamanke sub-district in Amedi, northeast of Duhok.
“The United States strongly condemns the attacks by the terrorist PKK organization yesterday against Kurdistan Regional security officials in Iraq,” Deputy Spokesperson of the U.S. State Department Cale Brown said in a statement on Thursday (November 5).
“We remain steadfast in our support for Iraqi Prime Minister [Mustafa] Kadhimi and the Kurdistan Regional Government in their efforts to root out terrorism, and we extend our sympathy and condolences to the families of those killed and injured in these attacks,” Brown added.
The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) said in on Friday that it condemned the statement by the U.S. state department, calling on Kurdish parties to unite their stance to impose security and solve the issues.
“The remark by the deputy spokesperson of the U.S. state department is baseless … The United States supports and encourages Turkey’s invasion and incursion into South Kurdistan’s soil, instead of criticizing Turkey for the intrusion,” the KCK said in a statement.
The press office of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the military wing of the PKK, said in a statement that its fighters had warned a unit of the Peshmerga forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) not to approach one of their camps in Gara mountain in Amedi.
“The KDP forces tried to enter our camps near the village of Babade with armored vehicles. Despite that attempt, our forces did not fight and did not use their weapons,” said the HPG, which is the military wing of the PKK.
“We intervened in the situation. Two mines were detonated at the hummers to prevent them from further advance,” the HPG added.
Recently, tensions have been high between the Region’s authorities and the PKK, which has positions on the Kurdistan Region’s border area with Turkey, where Turkish army sporadically bombs PKK positions.
