Shafaq News Agency: UAVs attacked Turkish base in Iraq for the first time with explosives

CAIRO, May 21 – RIA Novosti. The Turkish Armed Forces’ military base in northern Iraq was attacked for the first time with explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles, an Iraqi citizen who was on duty at the base lost his life. reported Saturday at the Shafaq agency.

“The Zelikan base in Ninewa province was attacked with explosives by drones. This is the first such attack,” an Iraqi security source told the agency.

According to him, an Iraqi citizen who served at this military base died as a result of the attack.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense launched a military operation against banned PKK militants in the country in April, this operation is taking place in the northern part of Iraq. Special Forces and Air Force participated in the operation. While the Iraqi Presidential Office said that the Turkish operation poses a threat to the national security of the country, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the Turkish side aims to ensure the security of its borders.

The armed conflict with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey started in 1984 and resumed in 2015. There are PKK bases in Northern Iraq where the Turkish Armed Forces conduct air and ground operations. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan previously said that since July 2015, 6,000 PKK members in the country and 6,900 outside the country have been destroyed, while the losses of the Turkish security forces are more than 1,200.