Kurdish Attack Kills Two Turkish Soldiers in Northern Iraq

Turkish army tanks are seen during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 18, 2017. Mehmet Selim Yalcin/Dogan News Agency, DHA via REUTERS
Turkish army tanks are seen during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 18, 2017. Mehmet Selim Yalcin/Dogan News Agency, DHA via REUTERS
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Kurdish Attack Kills Two Turkish Soldiers in Northern Iraq

Turkish army tanks are seen during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 18, 2017. Mehmet Selim Yalcin/Dogan News Agency, DHA via REUTERS
Turkish army tanks are seen during a military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey, September 18, 2017. Mehmet Selim Yalcin/Dogan News Agency, DHA via REUTERS

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and another was wounded after Kurdish fighters fired rockets at a military base in northern Iraq, Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Turkey has regularly attacked the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), both in its mainly Kurdish southeast and in northern Iraq, where the group is based.

The ministry said "harassment fire" by rocket launchers on Thursday killed the two troops at one of Turkey's bases in neighboring Iraq.

In June, Ankara launched a new ground offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger, that saw Turkish troops advance deeper into Iraq, Reuters reported.

In a separate statement, the Interior Ministry said 71 PKK militants had been killed since July 13 as part of a series of operations within Turkey, dubbed the "Lightning Operations", and added 38 collaborators had also been captured.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict focused in southeast Turkey.



Palestinians Create Role for a Vice President and Possible Abbas Successor

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
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Palestinians Create Role for a Vice President and Possible Abbas Successor

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

The Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday announced the creation of a vice presidency under 89-year-old leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has not specified a successor.
The PLO Central Council's decision came as Abbas seeks greater relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
After a two-day meeting, the council voted to create the role of vice chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. This position would also be referred to as the vice president of the State of Palestine, which the Palestinians hope will one day receive full international recognition.
The expectation is that whoever holds that role would be the front-runner to succeed Abbas — though it’s unclear when or exactly how it would be filled. Abbas is to choose his vice president from among the other 15 members of the PLO's executive committee.