Turkiye’s Drone Strike On Sulaymaniyah Airport; Failed Assassination Attempt On SDF Cmdr. in Iraq

On April 7, the Sulaymaniyah International Airport issued a statement, declaring that an explosion happened near the airport at 16:18 local time, which did not cause any casualty or losses. A fire erupted as a result of the incident in the area near the airport.

Following the attack, certain sources pointed out to the presence of commander-in-chief of the SDF Mazloum Abdi in Sulaymaniyah, claiming that he was the main target of the strike, but he and his accompanying team survived the incident.

A few hours later, media outlets affiliated to the SDF reported that the commander returned safe and sound to the region, which is under SDF control in northern Syria. The SDF Media Center ruled out reports on assassination of the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces during the strike on the Sulaymaniyah International Airport.

Mazloum Abdi, on his Twitter page, condemned Turkey’s targeting of Sulaymaniyah airport the and said: “We will continue our principled relations with our brothers and allies in Sulaymaniyah.”

In this regard, Mohsen Al-Mandlawi, the first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the explosion incident at Sulaymaniyah airport.

Referring to the drone attack on Sulaymaniyah, CENTCOM spokesman Joe Buccino said: “I can confirm that there was a strike on a convoy in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan Region. That convoy included U.S. military personnel. There were no casualties.”

It is said that on Friday, Sulaymaniyah hosted a security meeting with the presence of high-ranking officials from different parties, and this attack occurred after this meeting. Also, according to the statements of CENTCOM’s spokesperson, it seems that American military were also present in this meeting. The details of this meeting have not been disclosed yet.

It is worth mentioning that on December 20, 2021 Bafel Talabani, the head of the Patriotic Union of Iraqi Kurdistan and Wahab Halabchi, the head of counter-terrorism in Sulaymaniyah, met with Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), during a trip to Syria’s Hasakah province. Matthew McFarlane, the US CJTF-OIR commander was also present on that meeting.

Read more: Iraq’s PUK President Meets With The SDF Chief In Syria