Conflict

Turkish Military in Iraq & Syria

Incident Code

TI046

Location

Bradost region, Erbil, Iraq

Geolocation

36.747413, 44.398155
Accuracy: District

Airwars Assessment

Last Updated: December 15, 2024

At least five civilians were killed in alleged Turkish drone strikes in the Bradost region, Erbil governorate, on August 11th, 2020, according to local sources. The civilians died alongside five Iraqi border guards and five Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members.

Armen Press reported that 15 people were killed in a Turkish drone strike in northern Iraq Iraqi, adding that there were five civilians, five border guards and five PKK members among the victims.

AFP reported that “two high-ranking Iraqi officers were killed Tuesday in what the army said was a ‘blatant Turkish drone attack’ in the autonomous Kurdish region, where Ankara has for weeks been raiding militant positions. The strike killed two border guard battalion commanders and the driver of their vehicle, the army said in a statement.”

Rudaw wrote that “an unmanned drone targeted a meeting between Iraqi border officials and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters and a military vehicle in the northern Erbil province’s Bradost area Tuesday afternoon, officials confirmed.” The mayor of Sidakan, Ihsan Chalabi, identified the two killed officials as Kurds Zubair Hali Bradosti and Mohammed Rashid Sulaiman.

@YourAnonAlerts wrote that a civilian father and his son had been killed in the strikes.

The drone strikes reportedly followed on a shooting between PKK fighters and Iraqi border guards the night before.

Global Village Space reported that “Iraq cancelled a ministerial visit and summoned Turkey’s ambassador as it blamed Ankara for a drone strike that killed two high-ranking Iraqi officers on Tuesday. As the number of civilians killed in the Turkish military campaign increases, Iraq grows increasingly weary.”

Key Information

Country
Military Actor
Strike Type
Airstrike (Drone Strike)
Strike Status
Likely strike
Civilian Harm Reported
Yes
Civilian Harm Status
Fair
Causes of Death / Injury
Heavy weapons and explosive munitions
Civilians reported killed
1–5
Military actors reported killed
5–10

Geolocation Notes

Reports of the incident mention the Bradost region, for which the generic coordinates are: 36.747413, 44.398155. Due to limited satellite imagery and information available to Airwars, we were unable to verify the location further.

Reports of the incident mention the Bradost region.

Imagery: Google Earth

Military Statements

Turkish Military Assessment
Suspected belligerent
Turkish Military
Turkish Military position on incident
Not yet assessed

Media From Sources (3)