SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Seven fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were killed in Turkish airstrikes in the Kurdistan Region’s Avashin area on Monday, the group said on Thursday.
The People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the PKK military wing, said Turkey had attacked Avashin area with “poison gas”, where the seven PKK fighters including two women fought against Turkish soldiers.
“The occupiers … have bombarded the battle positions from the air and ground for days,” the HPG said in a statement, according to Firat News Agency.
“Our brave companions have nevertheless managed to masterfully lead the enemy’s technology and attacks into void,” it added.
“However, the dishonorable enemy, in its helplessness, used vile methods and attacked battlefields dozens of times with poison gases. In the process, our companions have fallen.”
Turkey launched a new ground and air defensive in Duhok province on April 23. The Turkish military has entered nearly 10 kilometers deep into the Kurdistan Region.
The Turkish military has established a dozen military bases in the Kurdistan Region’s border as part of a military campaign against the PKK.
On Tuesday, Iraqi border guard forces set up four military bases in Duhok province to prevent the Turkish forces from advancing deeper into Iraqi territory.
“More military bases will be established in the near future to prevent the Turkish army from further advancing into Iraqi territory and to reduce clashes between Turkey and the PKK,” a source in the Iraqi border guards told Esta Media Network.
Turkey regularly carries out air and ground attacks against the PKK in northern Iraq. It says neither the Iraqi government nor the Kurdish government has taken measures to combat the group.
