The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) confirmed late on Saturday that Friday’s drone strike on the airport in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq had targeted its commander.
The SDF initially denied that Mazloum Abdi was the target, refraining from discussing the incident “until his safe arrival to the regions of northern and eastern Syria,” the group’s spokesman Farhad Shami said in a statement.
Mr Abdi escaped unharmed, Mr Shami added. “We will publish the details of the attack later,” he said.
The attack, which took place in the vicinity of the airport, caused no casualties. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but Iraqis have blamed Ankara which has been targeting Turkish dissident groups based in Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Saturday implicitly blamed one of the region’s main political parties for the attack.
For decades, the main Kurdish political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, have shared power in the region.
Although the three-province region has a president and is run by a regional government, the provinces of Erbil and Dahuk are under the control of the KDP, while the PUK controls Sulaymaniyah.
“We express grave concerns about the attack on Sulaimaniyah International Airport,” KRG spokesman Jodtia Adel said in a statement on Saturday.
“This terrible situation has been caused by the misuse of government institutions by the area’s ruling party,” Mr Adel said, referring to the PUK.
On Wednesday, Turkey halted flights to and from the northern Iraqi city for three months, citing increased activity by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The KRG has linked the closure of the air space to the crash last month of two helicopters in the northern city of Duhok, killing at least nine people. The SDF confirmed that the helicopters carried its members and there has been widespread speculation as to how the militia obtained the aircraft, with some alleging they were donated by the US.
Last week, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder told Turkish media that the US had no connection to the helicopter incident. The KDP also alleged that the helicopters were carrying some members of the PKK, although the SDF, releasing the names of the victims, said all were members of its force.
“The behaviour of an authoritarian party in Sulaimaniyah led to the closure of Turkish airspace to flights from Sulaimaniyah International Airport,” Mr Adel said.
“As a result, citizens in the region pay the price of their leader’s mistakes,” he said, adding that the “region’s leadership must now take positive steps to resolve this complicated and dangerous situation”.
The PKK has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, initially seeking an independent Kurdish state before changing its demands and seeking an autonomous Kurdish region within Turkey. The conflict has killed about 40,000, many of them civilians.
The group has training camps and bases in autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan and is designated a terrorist group by the US and EU.
Ankara has launched a series of military operations against PKK fighters in Iraq and Syria, causing casualties among fighters and civilians.
Iraqi Kurdistan has complicated relations with the PKK because its presence in the region impedes trade relations with neighbouring Turkey.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Mobile phone packages comparison
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
The years Ramadan fell in May
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support