Iraqi Military Downs Turkish Drone in Kirkuk

The Iraqi military successfully shot down a drone over Kirkuk on Thursday, with initial investigations suggesting it was a Turkish military drone. The incident caused debris to fall in a residential area, triggering a fire that firefighters swiftly extinguished, but no casualties were reported. Local officials indicated that the drone had entered Iraqi airspace without prior notice, and investigations are underway to confirm its origin. The downing of the drone aligns with Turkey's ongoing military operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. The Iraqi federal government had previously designated the PKK, a Kurdish militant group, as a banned organization and is cooperating with Turkey in military operations against it. Turkish authorities have not yet responded to the incident.