One injured after suspected Turkish drone strike on 'civilian vehicle' in Iraqi Kurdistan region

A suspected Turkish drone strike on a civilian car in the Iraqi Kurdistan region early on Monday left one person injured, a local Kurdish official has told The New Arab. 

The incident took place on a highway near Ranya (Raparin), approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) northwest of Sulaymaniyah. 

"Early Monday, at about 11:40 local time, a white civilian car carrying two people was the target of a bombardment, consequently one person was injured and the other one is unhurt," Hiwa Qarani, the supervisor of Raparin administration told The New Arab.

He said it was not clear if a drone airstrike or a bomb inside the vehicle was responsible for the explosion and said the identities of the passengers are not known yet. 

When asked for further clarification on the incident, Shorsh Ismael, spokesperson of Raparin administration police told The New Arab that they were not authorised to comment on "political" issues.

Community Peacemaker Teams - Iraqi Kurdistan confirmed the incident on Twitter.

"This morning, a vehicle travelling on the main road between Chwarqurna and Ranya in the Slemani district was stuck by a missile from a suspected Turkish drone. A 52-year-old man was severely wounded in the strike," it reported.

"With the identity of the passengers and the source of the drone still unclear."

Photos and video clips posted by Kurdish social media users reportedly showed the moment a wounded man was pulled from the burning car.  

Turkey's terror in Southern Kurdistan continues

A civilian car was attacked by a Turkish drone near the city of Rania today. The driver was taken to a hospital in Silemanî. His condition remains unknown. pic.twitter.com/TpbFNnGECW

— RiseUp4Rojava (@RISEUP4R0JAVA) August 1, 2022

Turkish drones regularly conduct airstrikes in the Iraqi Kurdistan region allegedly targeting militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but often killing or injuring civilians.  

Five civilians, including a woman, were killed when hit by a Turkish drone missile hit a car west of Mosul on July 17, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials.  

"Since 2015, the Turkish Armed Forces have killed up to 129 civilians and wounded up to 180 civilians in northern Iraq," Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Iraqi Kurdistan reported in late June.  

On 18 June, four people, including Hussein Shibli, co-chairman of the executive council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), were killed in a Turkish drone strike in Kalar district, Sulaimaniyah province.  

At least nine Iraqi civilians were killed and 23 others wounded when several Turkish artillery hit a tourist resort in Duhok province in Iraqi Kurdistan on 20 July. 

The PKK, a Kurdish guerrilla force fighting for autonomy in Turkey, was formed in the late 1970s by militant leader Abdullah Ocalan.

It is listed as a "terrorist organisation" by Turkey, the US, the UK, and the EU and its bloody conflict with the Turkish military has left at least 40,000 people dead since 1984, many of whom were civilians.