Four people, including a 12-year-old child, were killed and four were injured in two Turkish drone strikes in Shingal(Sinjar), west of Mosul on Wednesday morning.
The bombing targeted the headquarters of the Shingal Autonomous Council, a group close to Kurdistan Workers’ Party PKK, fighting Turkey and holding territories in Iraq, at the center of Sinuny subdistrict in Shingal.
After the bodies of the dead and wounded were recovered, some residents of the district gathered and demanded that the headquarters of the forces move out of the residence.
"Four people were killed in the bombing, three of them members of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBŞ) and the other was a 12-year-old boy," Khudeda Elias, head of the self-governing council in Sinuny subdistrict, told KirkukNow.
Four people were killed in the bombing, three of them members of the Shingal Resistance Units (YBŞ) and the other a 12-year-old child
Four people were also injured, who were guests inside the headquarters, but Elias has not disclosed further details about their identities.
The headquarters of the Sinuny subdistrict self-governing council is only 100 meters from the Iraqi National Security Service NSS headquarters, and is close to the bazaar, the general hospital and the local administration office.
"Several shops around our headquarters have been damaged. We have repeatedly asked the United Nations and the Iraqi government to put an end to the Turkish attacks, but Turkey continues to carry out these attacks," Elias said.
Turkish fighters from time-to-time launch cross-border air raids targeting Shingal district and Makhmour camp in Ninewa, which caused civilian victims, including children, targeting pro-PKK factions.
Last February, five people were killed and at least 21 people were injured, by Turkey bombing targeted several areas in the districts of Shingal and Makhmur in Ninewa and Erbil provinces.
Shingal Autonomous Administrative Council was formed years ago by several Ezidi, Arab and other components, and it is considered affiliated to PKK. The council is currently managing Shingal and Sinuny though not recognized by the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
The council is an umbrella for YBS (Yabsha), Ezidkhan Asayish, Women Resistance Unites YPZh and several other armed groups close to the Kurdistan Workers' Party PKK were founded and stationed in Shingal and its outskirts since 2014, after that the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant ISIL attacked Ninewa province, targeted the vulnerable Ezidi community, committing atrocities mounted to genocide, and took over large swathes of Iraq.
Video: Turkish aircraft bombed the headquarters of the Shingal Autonomous Council
"Some of the wounded were severely hurt and are in bad health conditions. We visited the area in the first bombing and tried to rescue the 12-year-old boy and recover the bodies of the dead and wounded under the collapsed building yet suddenly the second strike was launched," said Khudeda Chuky, mayor of Sinuny.
Following the incident, a number of Siunny residents gathered in front of the bombed headquarters and appealed to all the armed groups and forces to evacuate the war-torn town.
Hassan Khalaf, one of the members of the protestors, told Kirkuk Now, “If the armed groups, such as Hashid al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces PMF), YBŞ, the Yezidi security forces and all other forces disappear from Shingal, Turkey will not bombard the city center.”
“We demanded that all armed forces leave Shingal. We want only the police and national security to protect the city,” Khalaf said.
There are more than eight different armed groups within the borders of Shingal district, including the pro-Iran Shiite paramilitary PMF, Ezidikhan Asayish (security), Yabsha, the local police, the federal police, the Iraqi army, the Ezidkhan Peshmerga and the KRG Peshmerga forces stationed in A religious shrine.
According to the Shingal agreement concluded between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG in October 2020 to reorganize the administrative, security and service file in the Shingal district, the local police, the intelligence service and the National Security Service, in coordination with the security forces of the KRG will be assigned to manage the security file of Shingal while the armed forces of the federal government will be deployed in the outskirts, including pro-Iran and pro-PKK groups.
