Iraq condemns Turkey attack on Sulaymaniyah airport, calls on Ankara to apologize

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid has condemned the recent shelling of Sulaymaniyah airport in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by the Turkish military, calling on Ankara to cease hostilities and apologize for bombarding the area.

Rashid made the remarks in a statement on Saturday saying there was "no legal justification" for such an act.

"Turkish military operations against the Kurdistan region continue to take place, the last being the Friday bombardment against Sulaimaniyah civilian airport," Rashid said, adding that such measures only serve to terrorize civilians.

Turkey “continues its approach of intimidating civilians under the pretext that hostile forces are present on Iraqi soil,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has a presence in Iraq's Kurdistan region and is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Turkey.

Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), wrote in a Twitter post late on Friday that a drone attack had targeted the vicinity of Sulaymaniyah airport, but caused no damage or delays or suspension of flights.

The attack came a few days after Turkey halted flights to and from Sulaimaniyah until at least July 3, blaming increased PKK activity in and around the airport.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said at the time that PKK activities were posing a "threat" to the country’s air security.

In September, at least four Turkish soldiers were killed after they engaged in fierce exchanges of gunfire with members of the PKK militant group in the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan.

SS