Turkish army lands explosives containing poisonous gas in Zap

On 19 May, Turkish troops in Sikorsky helicopters landed explosives containing poisonous gas in the ‘Small Cilo’ area of the Zap region in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

One of the battlegrounds of the guerrilla's resistance against the invasion attacks carried out by the Turkish army in the Zagros mountain range, is the ‘Small Cilo’ region of the Zap area. Armed clashes took place between the Turkish army and the guerrilla forces led by commanders Bawer Dendar and Ronahi Axin for 40 days. The Turkish army committed war crimes for 40 days during its operations against the war tunnels in the Small Cilo area.

On May 19, 2021, the Turkish army carried out an airdrop mission into the Small Cilo war tunnels supported by cobra and Sikorsky helicopters. However, it was not soldiers but explosives that the Turkish military personnel dropped here. The Turkish troops, who did not dare to fight against the guerrillas, were no longer able to even land troops in the guerrilla lands. On May 19, Turkish troops in Sikorsky helicopters left explosives containing poisonous gases inside the windows of the war tunnels. The explosives were later seized by the guerrillas. This substance, which contains explosives and poisonous gas, reveals the war crimes committed by the Turkish army in guerrilla areas.

HPG guerrilla Êrîş Andok said: “On May 19, the enemy used explosives in our war tunnels. But they could not get results through this method, and we got their explosives. We will research and share what kind of substance these explosives contain.”