A Turkish airstrike in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region killed two female journalists, Hero Baha’uddin and Golestan Tara, on Friday. Both journalists worked for a local Kurdish media company and were traveling near the village of Teperash in Sulaimaniyah province when the strike hit, according to reports from local media.

The Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) counter-terrorism service, headquartered in Irbil, reported that they targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK, a Kurdish separatist organization, has engaged in an armed conflict with Türkiye since the 1980s. The service confirmed that the strike killed a PKK official, along with his guard and their driver.

However, the situation remains unclear regarding whether the journalists were in the same vehicle as the PKK members or if multiple vehicles were involved. In addition to the fatalities, the attack also injured six other journalists to varying degrees.

Qubad Talabani, the Deputy Prime Minister of the KRG, condemned the airstrike and stressed that the journalists were civilians who should not have been targeted. His statement highlighted the severe risks that media professionals face in conflict zones.

This incident underscores the broader context of Türkiye’s intensified military operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq. As a result, tensions have risen between Türkiye and Iraq, with concerns about violations of its sovereignty while also adopting a stricter stance toward the PKK.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the killings of the journalists, with its interim MENA program coordinator, in Washington, D.C., Yeganeh Rezaian, urging Turkish authorities to investigate if the journalists were targeted for their work.    

The Turkish government has not commented on the attack.