ERBIL — A Turkish drone strike on a vehicle near the town of Said Sadiq district in Sulaymaniyah province has resulted in the deaths of three Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters, the Kurdistan Region Directorate General of Counter-Terrorism (CTD) confirmed. 

According to the statement from the CTD, the drone targeted the vehicle near the village of Tapa Resh, killing a PKK leader, his driver, and another fighter inside the car. Earlier reports from a security source indicated that a drone had struck a private car on the Said Sadiq-Halabja road in Sulaymaniyah.

A Kurdistan 24 correspondent on the scene confirmed that there were three passengers in the car, two of whom were killed, while the third was severely injured. Sulaymaniyah Asayish (Security) Directorate has initiated an investigation into the incident and will release further details upon its conclusion.

The PKK, designated as a “terrorist organization” by Ankara, has been in an armed conflict with the Turkish army for over three decades over the Kurdish question in the country, resulting in the deaths of more than 40,000 people on both sides.

Recently, Turkey has intensified its military operations against the PKK, extending its campaign deep into the Kurdistan Region. This incursion, which has breached tens of kilometers into Iraqi sovereign territory, is aimed at dismantling the PKK presence in the Region. However, the ongoing conflict has led to the evacuation of hundreds of villages and has caused civilian casualties, exacerbating the humanitarian situation in the area.