Iraq downs Turkish drone over airspace violation, army says
The statement comes less than two weeks after Ankara and Baghdad signed a security cooperation deal, and as Turkish officials are preparing to host Iraqi, Emirati and Qatari officials for a major trade corridor project that will connect Iraq and Turkey.
ANKARA — An Iraqi commander said Thursday that the Iraqi army shot down a Turkish drone over its northern airspace less than two weeks after the two countries signed a major military cooperation deal.
In a widely circulated video on social media, Brig. Gen. Abdul Salam Hamoudi Ramadan, who introduced himself as deputy commander of the Air Defense Force in the northern region, says the drone was downed after violating Iraqi airspace. “A Turkish drone that entered Iraqi airspace from Sulaimaniyah has been downed,” he said.
“It violated our airspace. It came to the Cimen region via Sulaimaniyah,” he added. There was no formal statement from either Ankara or the Iraqi government as of this writing.
Irak’tan ilk resmi açıklama.
Türk İHA’sı olduğunu, Irak Hava Savunma Gücü Komutan Yardımcısı Abdülselam Hammud açıkladı. pic.twitter.com/vB1QZJDVnm
