BAGHDAD, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Saturday blamed "saboteurs" for being behind the protests at a Turkish military base in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region that killed three people and injured nine others.
"There are saboteurs behind these events, therefore, the concerned authorities are conducting a thorough investigation and those saboteurs behind the chaos will be punished," said a statement released by the KRG.
"We express our discontent and sadness regarding today's events in Shiladze area that resulted in the loss of life and injuries," the statement said.
Earlier in the day, dozens of angry people broke into a Turkish military base in Shiladze area in Iraq's northern province of Duhok to protest Turkish bombardment on Kurdistan border areas.
Some protestors set fire to tents and military vehicles and clashed with the Turkish soldiers who fired bullets into the air to disperse the crowd, according to a Kurdish security source who spoke to Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, the security source said one protester was killed while nine others injured, most of whom sustained slight wounds.
Afterwards, the Turkish troops withdrew from the base to avoid casualties, leaving the Peshmerga troops to take control of the site to evacuate the protestors from the Turkish base peacefully, the source added.
The Kurdish media network Rudaw said the angry demonstrators were protesting the repeated airstrikes and artillery shelling on the Kurdish villages near the Iraqi-Turkish border.
According to the website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdish citizens found on Friday bodies of six people, including two Kurdish security members, known as Peshmerga, who were killed by the Turkish bombardment on the Deraluk area in Duhok province.
The demonstrators called on the federal and regional Kurdistan governments to intervene to stop the bombing, said the official website of PUK, a major Kurdish party in which the Iraqi President Barham Salih is a leading figure.
Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes and artillery bombardment against the positions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq, especially the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the PKK.
