According to information obtained from the Autonomous Administration of Shengal, an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) of the occupying Turkish state bombed the tents of workers who were drilling water wells in the Kora Simoqya area in the Mezargeh region of the Xanesor (Khanasor) town at around 18.00 local time today.

According to initial reports, three strikes by Turkish UCAV left 5 workers dead and 2 others wounded. No official statement has yet been made regarding the identity of the killed and injured workers.

The Shengal Autonomous Administration is expected to make a detailed statement about the attack and its results.

The Yazidi settlement area Shengal (Sinjar) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is the last contiguous settlement area of the Yazidi community. Thousands of Yazidis were murdered and thousands of women and children were taken prisoner in the 3 August 2014 onslaught on Shengal by ISIS militants. While ISIS gangs began murdering Yazidis in Shengal, the Peshmerga left, leaving the Yazidis behind, unprotected. The guerrillas of HPG (People’s Defense Forces) and YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) and fighters of the YPG (People’s Defense Units) and YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) came to the Yazidi people’s aid in the face of ISIS aggression. Thanks to a months-long selfless struggle, the city was liberated on 13 November 2015. After the liberation of the city, the HPG and YPG/YPJ subsequently withdrew in 2017. People who returned to their land after Shengal’s independence reformed, established defensive units and built their institutions.

Attacks by Turkey that violate international law have been routine in southern Kurdistan for years. The Turkish air force bombs the territory of the KRI and Iraq on an almost daily basis, especially where guerrillas are suspected. However, civilian settlement areas are also regularly attacked by the Turkish army, including the Yazidi settlement area of Shengal and the Maxmur refugee camp. With its aerial terror, Ankara is pursuing a targeted policy of displacement – in particular by deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure.