The Press Office of the HPG (People's Defence Forces) announced that one of their guerrillas, Çiya Agirî, was martyred in an ambush in the Heftanin region of the Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

According to the HPG statement released on Saturday, the Turkish intelligence service MIT and the Parastin, the intelligence organisation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the ruling party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, are responsible for the death of the guerrilla fighter from Makû in Rojhilat (East Kurdistan, Iran).

"On the evening of 5 August, a group of our comrades met with a militiaman in the Banikê area, which belongs to Heftanîn, at around 9 pm in order to supply themselves with their needs. The short meeting took place at a point named by this person. Immediately after the militiaman moved away from the place, our comrades came under fire from two sides. Our comrade Çiya Agirî was shot in the head and died at the scene, while our comrade Dilgeş was hit in the head by a bullet and was seriously injured,” said the HPG statement.

The identity information of the fallen guerrilla fighter is as follows:

The HPG statement pointed out that: “This incident took place in relative proximity to the Asayîş (Public Security Forces) in Banikê. The fact that the scene of this ambush was deliberately located in the vicinity of a KDP checkpoint, that it was named as a meeting place, that our comrades were lured here and finally shot in the head from two sides shows that it was a planned ambush. It goes without saying that the main purpose of carrying out this plot, which was planned by MIT with the help of the Parastin, at such a place, was to structure a conflict between us and the KDP. The intention was to create a perception among our forces based in the region that this attack was carried out by KDP security forces. In this way, a part of the KDP was also involved in this ambush.”

The statement continued: “The People’s Defence Center Headquarters Command considered it likely early on that it could be an enemy plot and ordered a thorough investigation of the incident instead of making it public immediately. Our investigation revealed that it was a provocation involving the Parastin, aimed at creating an environment of conflict between us and the KDP. The KDP is responsible for this. It must fully investigate why the perpetrators chose an area under its control for an ambush against our members. It is obvious that the perpetrators have a dirty goal, such as creating conflict between organisations. It is also clear that a part of the KDP is working intensively with the MIT to bring about an intra-Kurdish war and serve the Turkish state in this way."