A Bayraktar TB2 combat drone. Source: Baykar.
The People’s Defence Forces (HPG), the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), announced on March 20 it had shot down 15 Turkish combat drones over the northern Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan using anti-aircraft missiles over the past year.
The surprise announcement came as Kurdish people were celebrating Nowruz, a festival that marks the arrival of spring and the Persian new year.
In a statement, the Kurdish guerilla group listed the downed drones starting from February 13 of last year. The most recent downing took place over the town of Ciya Resh in the Zap region on 1 March, according to the statement.
The Turkish drones were downed using a missile system, the HPG said, noting that it was able to acquire the system and provide it to the guerrilla “despite all the efforts of the enemy [Turkey] to isolate our people in the international arena.”
Six of the 15 downed drones were Bayraktar TB2, five were Ankas, two were Akıncı and two were Aksungur. The TB2 and Akıncı are both produced by Turkey’s Baykar, while the Anka and Aksungur are manufactured by the Turkish Aerospace Industries.
The HPG added in its statement that all attacks on Turkish drones were recorded, except for a few. Later, video footage released by the PKK’s Gerîla TV showed at least four combat drones being shot down as well as their wreckage on the ground.
Earlier this month, PKK Executive Committee member Murat Karayilan said in an interview that they will announce “good news” on the eve of Nowruz.
It is unclear what type of missile systems the guerilla group has been using to target Turkish drones. Man-portable air defense systems, which were spotted with Kurdish fighters in Kurdistan before, can’t reach such drones which typically operate at altitudes of four to five kilometers.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey. The group has been waging an insurgency against the country for around four decades.
For the last few years, the Turkish military has been heavily using combat drones against the PKK in Kurdistan and its affiliates in northern and eastern Syria, mainly the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish drone strikes killed hundreds in the two countries.
While the PKK is apparently making efforts to counter Turkish drones, the SDF continues to struggle in the face of this threat.
It is still unclear which side may be helping the PKK shoot down Turkish drones. The group may have obtained advanced anti-aircraft missiles from the blackmarket in Ukraine.
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