SDF Commander Reportedly Targeted in Blast Near Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah Airport

An explosion struck next to the Sulaymaniyah International Airport in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region Friday, local officials said.

The blast came days after Türkiye closed its airspace to flights to and from the airport, citing an alleged increase in Kurdish militant activity threatening flight safety.

Türkiye has spent years fighting Kurdish militants in its east. Large Kurdish communities also live in neighboring Iraq and Syria where they have a degree of self-rule.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a…