On Monday, July 8th, 2024, a declared Turkish drone struck a vehicle belonging to ÇIRA TV and ÇIRA Radio, resulting in the injury of six people, including three media personnel, in Sabahiya village, located on the road linking Sinjar district and Qayrawan district in the western part of Mosul city located in the Nineveh Governorate, Iraq.

Three crew members of the ÇIRA Media Foundation, a media organization specializing in Yazidi affairs, were in a white Hyundai Tucson returning from covering the tenth anniversary of the Tel Qasab genocide when the drone attack occurred. They, along with three other nearby citizens in another white vehicle whose identities are unknown, were injured. Subsequently, the Iraqi Security Forces and Ezidkhan Security attended the scene.

The injured media personnel were Mydia Kamal Hassan, a correspondent for ÇIRA TV, Murad Mirza Ibrahim, a correspondent for ÇIRA FM, and their driver, Khalaf Khadr. Both reporters suffered from head injuries, and one of them was in critical condition. One of the victims was transferred to Mosul Hospital, while the other two were treated in hospitals located in Sinjar. The three injured civilians were also taken to hospitals in Sinjar.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Murad Mirza Ibrahim died from his injuries on July 11th during surgery, and that he was buried on July 12 in the Girê Gewir Cemetery, according to ÇIRA FM, the news outlet he worked for.

According to Kurdistan24 news, the Turkish Intelligence Special Warfare Department and the Parastan Service claimed that the vehicle of media personnel belonged to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and two crew members were militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Also, Kurdistan.24 reported that the Counter-Terrorism Service in Kurdistan claimed in the statement, a copy of which was received by Kurdistan 24, that “according to the information of the Counter-Terrorism Service in Kurdistan, a Turkish drone bombed, today, Monday, July 8, 2024, at 11:10 a.m., a vehicle belonging to militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, between the district Sinjar and the Tal Qasab complex.”

However, Rojnews claimed that all the injured were civilians, adding that Murad Mirza had recently joined the team, his brother disappeared during the genocide, and his sister was rescued from ISIS.

Additionally, the Independent Yazidi National Movement issued a statement condemning the attack and denouncing the displacement of Yazidis in the Sinjar area.

All sources attributed responsibility for the attack to the Turkish military, and based on the statement of the Counter-Terrorism Service in Kurdistan quoted by Kurdistan24, Airwars has graded the Strike Status as Declared. However, the belligerent did not acknowledge the civilian harm, alleging that the passengers in the car were militants instead of civilians.

The local time of the strike is reported differently. Most local sources reported that the incident occurred in the afternoon while the Counter-Terrorism Service claimed the strike occurred at 11:10 am.

The incident occured around midday.