Iraqi Army Thwarts Drone Attack on Military Airbase

Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)
Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)
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Iraqi Army Thwarts Drone Attack on Military Airbase

Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)
Turkish Zilikan military base (Reuters)

The Iraqi forces thwarted an attack by three drones targeting the Balad Airbase near Baghdad, a day after rockets were launched at the Green Zone and a number of military areas.

Three drones approached the southern perimeter of the Balad Air Base, some 90 km north of Baghdad, prompting the Iraqi forces to open fire on the drones and forcing them to flee the scene.

Militias and armed factions affiliated with Iran continue to attack foreign bases and US military sites throughout Iraq by drones, missiles, and explosive devices.

Balad Air Base houses Iraqi F-16, L-159, and T-6 fighter jets. It also includes facilities, equipment, and integrated spare parts to maintain these combat aircraft.

The Security Media Cell issued a statement announcing: "Early Saturday, three drones approached the southern perimeter of Balad Air Base in Salahadin province."

"The drones were spotted with the naked eye by force tasked with protecting the southern towers, and it they were recognized as enemy aircraft."

The Cell added that the three drones fled the scene after being targeted by the Iraqi forces.

Balad Air Base Commander Major General Zia Mohsen told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that three drones were seen approaching the base, and an order was issued to down them.

Mohsen noted that it was not possible to locate the exact launch location through the base's radar, but he affirmed that they were launched from a nearby place.

Authorities have not been able to stop these attacks or identify the factions and militias behind them.

Also, multiple rockets morning were fired Saturday at the Turkish Zilikan military base north of the Iraq province of Nineveh, causing no casualties.

Missile attacks targeted the base for months now. Reportedly, factions loyal to Iran who operate under the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) umbrella in Nineveh are behind those attack.

The attacks often cause panic among the residents of the Yazidi-majority region, who complain that the illegal Turkish base in their area threatens their security.

Earlier on Thursday, rockets also landed in the Green Zone in Baghdad.

The Iraqi foreign ministry condemned the attack, affirming that it was committed to "providing security and protection to diplomatic missions."

The foreign ministry said that those who launched the rockets were currently being pursued by Iraqi security sources and would be punished "according to the law."

Iraqi MP Sherwan al-Duberdany called on the security forces to arrest the "terrorists" who launch missiles and cause terror in Bashiqa.

Duberdany told the Rudaw media network that the "frequent targeting by terrorists of Zilikan base."

The lawmaker warned that the "terrorist operations" are a dangerous indicator of the lack of stability and security of Nineveh.

He pointed out that Zilikan was attacked from the outskirts of Bashiqa district and within its administrative borders, which fall within the responsibility of the PMF 30th Brigade and the third brigade of the Iraqi army.



Kurdish PKK Militants Burn Weapons in Iraq to Launch Disarmament

 Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS
Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS
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Kurdish PKK Militants Burn Weapons in Iraq to Launch Disarmament

 Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS
Armed PKK fighters arrive ahead of a disarming ceremony in Sulaimaniya, Iraq, July 11, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video. KURDISTAN WORKERS PARTY MEDIA OFFICE/Handout via REUTERS

Thirty Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Türkiye.

Footage from the ceremony showed the fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers and other guns into a large grey cauldron. Flames later engulfed the black gun shafts pointed to the sky, as Kurdish, Iraqi and Turkish officials watched nearby, Reuters reported.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy and wrought deep social and political divisions in Türkiye and the wider region.

President Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped the PKK's dissolution would bolster Turkish security and regional stability. "May God grant us success in achieving our goals on this path we walk for the security of our country, the peace of our nation, and the establishment of lasting peace in our region," he said on X.

Friday's ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana cave in the town of Dukan, 60 km (37 miles) northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq's north.

The fighters, in beige military fatigues, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK figure Bese Hozat, who read a statement in Turkish declaring the group's decision to disarm.

"We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," she said, before another commander read the same statement in Kurdish.

Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said.

The ceremony was attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, officials of Iraq's Kurdistan regional government and senior members of Türkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party - which also played a key role this year facilitating the PKK's disarmament decision.

It was unclear when further handovers would take place.

A senior Turkish official said the arms handover marked an "irreversible turning point" in the peace process, while another government source said ensuing steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into society in Türkiye and efforts to heal communities and promote reconciliation.

The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Türkiye's southeastern frontier in recent years. Türkiye's military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and established several military outposts there.

The end of NATO member Türkiye's conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighboring Syria where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.

Washington and Ankara want those Kurds to quickly integrate with Syria's security structure, which has been undergoing reconfiguration since the fall in December of autocratic President Bashar al-Assad. PKK disarmament could add to this pressure, analysts say.

The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Erdogan's government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly Türkiye's southeast where the insurgency was concentrated.

In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan - whose large image was shown at the weapons ceremony - also urged Türkiye's parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK's transition into democratic politics.

Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's AK Party, said the ceremony marked a first step toward full disarmament and a "terror-free Türkiye", adding this must be completed "in a short time".

Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Türkiye's southeast.

Türkiye spent nearly $1.8 trillion over the past five decades combating terrorism, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said.