19 Turkish soldiers killed in guerrilla actions in South Kurdistan

19 Turkish soldiers have been killed in actions by the guerrilla forces of HPG and YJA Star against the occupation of Southern Kurdistan.

Despite technological superiority, the Turkish army continues to suffer massive losses in its cross-border occupation operation in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. According to the statement published on Saturday by the press office of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), at least 19 members of the occupation forces were killed in a total of 25 actions carried out by the guerrillas. In addition, another reconnaissance drone was shot down. According to the information, the guerrilla forces of the HPG (People’s Defense Forces) and YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) did not suffer any casualties of their own.

The actions took place in different areas of the Zap and Metîna regions. The HPG and YJA Star operate in semi-autonomous small group tactics from underground positions and repeatedly provide spectacular surprise assaults against the Turkish occupiers. In Çemço, YJA Star snipers carried out two deadly actions on Thursday, among other things, and a military tent came under fire at Girê FM. Counter-invasion actions were also carried out in Saca and Sîda.

In the Sîda area, the guerrillas struck the occupation forces five times on Friday. First, an advance on the Şehîd Agir defensive positions was thwarted by a combined action of sniper tactics and the use of heavy weapons. According to HPG, five soldiers were killed, and three others injured. This is also where a drone of the Turkish army was shot down. The occupying forces then attempted to overrun the nearby guerrilla positions of "Şehîd Bahoz". Here, too, their attempt was thwarted as the HPG and YJA Star units forced the Turkish troops to retreat.

An attempted advance on the "Şehîd Felat" defensive positions was met with three separate guerrilla sabotages, immediately followed by a coordinated surprise assault with light weapons and hand grenades. According to the balance sheet, the death of ten soldiers was safely established, and two other occupants were injured. In Saca, a Turkish troop transport helicopter made by the US manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft was targeted by the guerrillas on Friday evening. The aircraft had previously been moving over the resistance area for several hours and was badly damaged by the shelling.

At Girê Cûdî in Metîna, the guerrillas also observed efforts by the occupation forces to capture the resistance massif. YJA Star units pushed back the marching soldiers, while the guerrillas carried out two successful sniper actions at the FM and Amêdî hills.

All actions were dedicated to PKK cadres Ali Çiçek and Delal Nurhak. Ali Çiçek was a PKK member from the very beginning and was imprisoned in the "Hell of Amed", the notorious prison of Diyarbakır, during the Turkish military junta. There, on 14 July 1982, he joined Akif Yilmaz, Mehmet Hayri Durmuş and Kemal Pir in a "death fast" against the junta's repressive regime. All four revolutionaries lost their lives during the hunger strike. Delal Nurhak was killed in a Turkish air strike in the Medya Defence Zones on 13 September 2019. Before her violent death, she had spent three decades fighting for freedom in the Kurdish women's movement in Europe and the four parts of Kurdistan.

The Turkish army's air attacks on areas in the southern part of Kurdistan have continued unabated over the past two days, the HPG said. At least 49 air strikes were recorded, 27 of them by fighter jets. In addition, the HPG recorded dozens of artillery shells fired from outposts on the border. In Sîda and at the Girê FM and Girê Amêdî hills, the occupation forces used chemical weapons at least five times. In Amêdî, the chemicals spread the smell of chlorine after the explosion.