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Al-Kadhimi condemns the attack on Peshmerga in Duhok
[SHAFAQ] Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, the front man for the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, condemned on Saturday the attack on Peshmerga by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Matin Mountain.

Rasoul said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency; "We condemn the cowardly terrorist attack against an Iraqi military unit by non-Iraqi gangs."

Rasoul added that the security forces have opened an investigation into the incident, "every aggressor against the blood and security of Iraqis will receive a fair punishment.

"We offer our condolences to the families of the five deaders from the Peshmerga forces, and we call for a speedy recovery for those injured," he said.

The statement pointed out that the Iraqi armed forces reaffirmed establishing the "national illusory sovereignty over the entire Iraqi territory and preventing any breach, whether internal or foreign."
Rudaw adds:
Five Peshmerga were killed and seven others injured by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Duhok province’s Amedi district on Saturday, according to the Peshmerga ministry. The PKK said they only fired warning shots to stop the Peshmerga from nearing their position and did not kill them.

"A Peshmerga force fell into a trap by the PKK on Metina mountain. Five Peshmerga were martyred and two others injured," Sarbast Lazgin, deputy Peshmerga minister, told Rudaw. A later statement from the ministry said seven Peshmerga were maimed.

The PKK, however, said their fighters "opened fire into the air with personal weapons in order to warn" the Peshmerga when they entered an area on the mountain where the PKK are present.

"However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
their armored vehicle ignored our warning and kept moving. We have not confirmed how they were attacked. We do not know if an old mine went kaboom! or it was an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
," the PKK added in a statement carried by Rojnews.

Most of the Peshmerga casualties were senior officers and members of a unit that clears mines and explosives. Their commander, Hussein Blani, told Rudaw the men were hit by a rocket, but it is not clear who carried out the attack.

"Two of our engineering teams went to Amedi as part of their duty, but they were hit by a rocket," said Blani.
A subsequent Rudaw article adds:
The People's Defence Forces (HPG) command - the PKK’s military wing — claimed the incident was caused by a mine explosion.

"There area is uninhabited and the Peshmerga have not moved in this area for 25 years. Most of the area is under control of the HPG forces and has been mined against the Ottoman Turkish occupation. Despite the warning shots, a kaboom occurred and resulted in unknown casualties in one or two vehicles," said the statement published by the PKK-affiliated Hawar News Agency.

"We do not want to start an endless internal war," it added.

Posted by: Fred 2021-06-06
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=603789