IRBIL: Protests against Turkey in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region have turned violent, with three police officers wounded. Hundreds of protesters gathered on Sunday outside the United Nations compound in the northern city of Irbil calling for an end to Turkish airstrikes against Kurdish militants. Local media reported that three police were wounded.

Turkey began launching airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in July 2015 as part of the US-led coalition’s fight against the militant Islamic State group (IS).

In Syria it has targeted the IS group, while in Iraq it has taken aim at the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.

This story has been corrected to show that Turkey is striking the IS group in Syria and Kurdish militants in Iraq.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2016