Turkish warplanes target PMU hospital in northern Iraq: Security source

Turkish warplanes have reportedly bombarded a military hospital belonging to forces of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) — or Hashd al-Sha’abi — resistance group in Iraq’s northern Nineveh Province.

Iraq’s Mawazin News cited an unnamed security source as saying on Tuesday that the hospital is located in the village of al-Sakina, south of Mount Sinjar.

“The [Turkish] warplanes target everyone who tries to evacuate the wounded from the hospital,” the source said, adding that initial reports confirmed some people had been killed and injured during the air raid.

According to Sabereen News, a Telegram news channel associated with the PMU, the Turkish warplanes targeted all vehicles trying to approach the hospital.

No further details were reported.

The PMU, which is the largest coalition of Iraqi resistance groups, has played a key role in Iraq’s 2017 victory against the Daesh terrorist group.

Since the defeat of Daesh, however, the anti-terror group has been targeted repeatedly by the US military, prompting Iraqi resistance groups to step up efforts to push the US out of their country over its destabilizing activities.

The PMU has also played a significant role in protecting Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against hostile and occupying forces.

Turkey has been militarily engaged in northern Iraq with the purported aim of fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, which it has designated as a terrorist outlet, along with the United States and the European Union.

The Baghdad government has condemned Ankara’s ongoing military operations in northern Iraq, warning of the Turkish government's expansionist agenda and its ambitions to seize control of and annex the strategic northwestern city of Mosul.

MG